Vertebral Body Surgery
You suffer from osteoporosis and your doctor has told you that you have a compression fracture that requires surgery. Compression fractures can cause severe back pain, change the shape of your spine and affect your overall health.
The type of surgery that you will need is called Kyphoplasty that will dissipate the pain in your back and in most cases eliminate it all together. It can also help to straighten your spine.
Before your procedure you will need a physical exam and X-rays to locate and identify the fractures in your back. The Kyphoplasty procedure can be done under general anesthesia or using local anesthesia. Do you want to be awake or asleep during the process? Your surgeon can discuss which option is most appropriate for you. The procedure will take one hour per fracture treated.
Kyphoplasty
• Your surgeon makes a narrow half-inch incision in your back, creating a very small pathway into the fractured bone.
• A small orthopedic balloon is placed through the pathway into the fractured vertebra.
• Then the balloon is carefully inflated, raising the collapsed vertebra and attempting to restore its height. This is an important step that helps to straighten your spine. The balloon is removed, leaving a space within the vertebra.
• The space is filed with a material to support the bone and prevent further collapse. This process creates an internal cast that holds the repaired bone in place. In most cases, there four steps are performed on both sides of the vertebral body.
This procedure utilizes a cement like material that is injected directly into the fractured bone. This stabilizes the fracture and provides immediate pain relief in many cases.
Additional benefits of these procedures include:
• Short surgical time
• Only general or local anesthesia required
• Average hospital stay is one day (or less)
• Patients can quickly return to the normal activities of daily living
• No bracing required
While kyphoplasty has been an encouraging development in the field of medicine, it remains essential that osteoporosis sufferers seek medical help and learn about ways to treat their condition as well as ways to prevent future problems.
Most Recent Posts
Previous Posts
