Kyphoplasty Specialist

What is kyphoplasty?

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure to repair a collapsed spinal vertebra. Your vertebrae may collapse if you have a spinal tumor or damage from a traumatic injury. However, your provider most often performs kyphoplasty to treat a vertebral compression fracture.

Vertebral compression fractures occur when osteoporosis weakens the bone. As a result, the vertebra can't hold up to the body weight and spinal movement it usually supports. Then the bone collapses, and you have a vertebral compression fracture.

Osteoporosis causes such brittle and weak vertebrae that you can end up with a compression fracture from everyday activities like twisting your spine, sneezing, or coughing.

What symptoms indicate I need kyphoplasty?

Compression fractures can occur in your lower back (lumbar spine), but they most often affect the bottom portion of your middle back (thoracic spine). When a vertebra collapses, you experience:

• Sudden, severe upper-back pain
• Limited movement
• Pain that's worse when walking
• Pain that improves when lying down
• Round-back deformity

With a vertebral compression fracture, only the front of the bone collapses, giving the vertebra a shape resembling a wedge. If two or more adjacent vertebrae collapse, the wedge-like shapes combine to create a rounded hump in your upper back. This deformity is called kyphosis.

What happens during kyphoplasty?

Your Metro Anesthesia & Pain Management provider uses an X-ray imaging technique called fluoroscopy during your procedure. Fluoroscopy guides the procedure by creating continuous images of your spine. The images show structures and movement in real-time. 

Your provider guides a slim, hollow needle through your skin and into the collapsed vertebra. Then they use the needle to inflate a medical-grade balloon in the center of the bone. The balloon restores the vertebra's natural height and creates a small cavity.

For the next step, they remove the balloon and use the same needle to inject bone cement into the center of the vertebra. The cement fills the space and hardens. Your bone retains its normal shape, your spine regains stability, and your pain goes away.

When should I have kyphoplasty?

Timing is critical if you want to have a kyphoplasty procedure. Compression fractures heal in about 8-10 weeks, and you can't have kyphoplasty after the bone heals in the collapsed position.

The sooner you meet with the Metro Anesthesia & Pain Management team, the better, but it's essential to schedule an appointment within six weeks after the fracture.

If you experience mid-back pain, call Metro Anesthesia & Pain Management or book an appointment online today.