Can anything go wrong with having cement injected into your back for disc problems?

No medical procedure is 100 percent foolproof so, yes, things can go wrong with a vertebroplasty, a procedure where a doctor injects a special cement into the spine to stabilize it.

One complication is one that can occur with any procedure that requires x-ray imaging to see where the injection needs to go. Some people are allergic to the dye or contrast agent and they may have a reaction to it. Another possible issue is infection at the injection site, but this is a rare occurrence. There have been some instances of the cement leaking away from the spine and into the spinal canal, and there are some patients who experience bleeding, back pain or numbness as a result.