Kyphoplasty & Vertebroplasty

We offer these minimally invasive treatments for painful compression fractures, as an alternative to living in pain or invasive surgery. 

Balloon Kyphoplasty

If you have been diagnosed with a spinal fracture caused by osteoporosis, cancer or benign tumors, balloon kyphoplasty is a treatment option you may want to consider. Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can significantly reduce back pain and repair the broken bone of a spinal fracture.

The procedure is called balloon kyphoplasty because orthopaedic balloons are used to lift the fractured bone and return it to the correct position.

Before the procedure, you will have a medical exam and undergo diagnostic studies such as X-rays, to determine the precise location of the fracture. Balloon kyphoplasty can be done under local or general anesthesia—your physician will decide which option is appropriate for you.

Balloon kyphoplasty takes about one hour per fracture treated. It can be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis, depending on medical necessity. After the procedure, you will likely be transferred to the Recovery Room for about an hour for observation.

How Balloon Kyphoplasty Works

While in the hospital, you may be encouraged to walk and move about. Patients usually report immediate relief from pain and are able to walk and move about during their hospital stay.

Your doctor will probably schedule a follow-up visit and explain limitations, if any, on your activity. Most patients report being satisfied with the procedure and are gradually able to resume activity once discharged from the hospital.

As with any surgical procedure, there are potential risks and serious adverse events can occur. Be sure to discuss these with your doctor.

Also, please note that not all patients are candidates for balloon kyphoplasty.

Kyphoplasty Video

Vertebroplasty - Treatment for Painful Spinal Compression

Vertebroplasty is a new, image-guided procedure performed by Interventional Radiologists as a treatment for painful spinal compression fractures and for some types of spinal cancer.

The procedure involves placing a needle into a fractured vertebral body and injecting a special type of bone cement. Many patients experience a dramatic decrease in their pain.

Approximately 700,000 vertebral, or spinal bone, fractures occur each year — usually in women over the age of 60. Researchers estimate that at least 25 percent of women and a somewhat smaller percentage of men over the age of 50 will suffer one or more spinal fractures. Younger people also suffer these fractures, particularly those whose bones have become fragile due to the long-term use of steroids or other drugs to treat a variety of diseases such as lupus, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Of particular concern are spinal fractures caused by a progressive weakening of the bone -- a condition called osteoporosis. The pain and loss of movement that often accompany bone fractures of the spine are perhaps the most feared and debilitating side effects of osteoporosis. For many people with osteoporosis, a spinal fracture means severely limited activity, constant pain and a serious reduction in the quality of their lives.

Fractures of the vertebrae have traditionally been much more difficult to manage than broken bones in the hip, wrist or elsewhere. These broken bones can often be successfully treated with surgery. But because surgery on the spine is extremely difficult and risky, it has typically not been used to treat vertebral fractures associated with osteoporosis except as a last resort. Until recently, reduced activity and pain medications, many of which cause problematic side effects, or invasive (and often unsuccessful) back surgery were virtually the only treatments available. Today, however, there is a safe, non-surgical interventional radiology treatment called vertebroplasty (ver-TEE-bro-plasty) that has been shown to be extremely effective in reducing or eliminating the pain caused by spinal fractures.

The following information was prepared by the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology (SIR) to provide general information about vertebroplasty, how it is performed, and which patients may benefit from the procedure. The site also contains general information about osteoporosis, and information about new research on the horizon that may improve treatment.
(information provided by the Society of Interventional Radiology)

What Causes Spinal Fractures

If your bones are healthy, it takes an injury of considerable force to cause a fracture.

A spinal fracture (also called a vertebral compression fracture) occurs when one of the bones of the spinal column fractures or collapses. When more than one spinal fracture occurs, loss of height or spinal deformities such as a dowager’s hump may result.

Certain conditions, including osteoporosis, cancer and long-term use of steroids or other drugs, can make your bones fragile and more likely to break. In older adults, osteoporosis is the primary cause of spinal fractures.

For many, the pain caused by spinal fractures severely limits activity and reduces overall quality of life. Over time, the pain may go away as the fracture heals in its deformed position, but for some, the fractured vertebra continues to break and the pain persists.

If spinal fractures are not treated properly , they can cause serious medical consequences. Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can reduce back pain and sometimes correct the spinal deformity.

As of the end of the third quarter 2008, we have treated over 393,000 patients and 460,000 fractures worldwide with balloon kyphoplasty since we commercialized our products in 2000.

This achievement was made possible by the 12,800 spine specialists worldwide who are helping to establish balloon kyphoplasty as the standard of care for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures.

Osteoporosis

Your bones are living tissue made up largely of collagen (forms the soft framework throughout the bone) and calcium (a mineral that hardens the framework). Together, collagen and calcium give your bones the strength to support more than your body weight. They also help your bones "give," so that they stay flexible and don't break easily.

During the first two decades of life, our bones lengthen and become strong. In our 20s, our bones are still growing, not by getting longer, but by becoming thicker and stronger. Around age 30, we attain peak bone mass. Peak bone mass can be lower in people who grow up eating calcium-deficient diets. It can also be lower for those living in cold climates with seasons of low sunlight. Sun exposure is needed for the body to produce vitamin D, which helps us absorb calcium from the food we eat. Reaching adulthood with less-than-optimal peak bone mass is one of the risk factors for osteoporosis and future fracture.

After attaining peak bone mass, your bones undergo a constant process of repair, called remodeling, in which localized areas of damaged bone are broken down and rebuilt. Adequate daily calcium and vitamin D continue to play critical roles in the maintenance of healthy bone throughout our lives.

Osteoporosis is a disease where loss of bone mass (total amount of bone), and loss of bone quality (how the bone is structured) make you more likely to fracture. In osteoporosis, the balance between the normal breakdown and rebuilding of bone is disrupted. Bone breakdown exceeds bone repair. Over time, this imbalance causes the areas of weak bone to accumulate to the point that the bone breaks after minor trauma such as stepping off a curb or rolling over in bed. Often referred to as “the silent thief,” osteoporosis robs its victims of healthy bone, progressing without symptom until a fracture occurs.

As we age, our bones tend to weaken. This weakening is related to a number of factors, including a decline in our ability to produce vitamin D and absorb calcium, as well as a decrease in our levels of sex hormones (which are important to bone health in both men and women).

Older women are at increased risk for osteoporosis because bone loss is accelerated when sex hormone levels decline at the start of menopause. In addition, women usually have smaller bones than men to begin with, so it takes less time for them to reach a level of damage that weakens the bones enough to fracture. Of the 25 million people with osteoporosis in the United States, 80% are women.

Osteoporosis related to aging and to menopause is called primary osteoporosis. Certain drugs and many diseases affect bone health, leading to secondary osteoporosis. Both types of osteoporosis increase your risk for fracture.

Spinal fractures are the most common fracture caused by osteoporosis, not hip or wrist fractures as is commonly thought. Someone in the United States has a spinal fracture caused by osteoporosis every 45 seconds!

We have provided you with some procedure education within our web site, if you would like further information about our Interventional & Diagnostic Procedures, please click on the Radiology Info logo below.

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