Breaking New Ground with Vertebroplasty in a 60-Year-Old Man in Ghana: A Case Report and Literature Review

Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive procedure famed for its widespread use in augmenting and stabilizing vertebral body compression fractures, primarily to reduce pain, and until now, has been little practiced in sub-Saharan Africa. We present the case of a 60-year-old male patient with intractable back pain attributed to multiple-level vertebral compression fractures on imaging. We went on to discuss the novel use of this technique in Ghana, highlighting the intended outcomes vis-à-vis providing relief in symptomatology, spinal stability, and improved patient mobility while touching on the prevailing local challenges related to operational costs, local availability of the vertebroplasty kit, and strategies required to formalize the process.