Kyphoplasty
Osteoporosis weakens bones and causes them to become brittle and break. This often happens in different locations throughout the body, most often in the hip, wrist and spine. When fractures occur in the spine, patients can have extreme and constant pain, deformity and even nerve compression.
WakeMed Raleigh Campus offers a therapeutic and preventative procedure for compression fractures. Performed by specialty trained orthopaedic surgeons, kyphoplasty provides immediate relief from longstanding pain and help patients return to a more active lifestyle.
When fractures occur in the spine, patients can have extreme and constant pain, deformity and even nerve compression.
At WakeMed, we offer a therapeutic and preventive procedure for compression fractures called kyphoplasty. Performed by our expertâ€&hibar;orthopaedic surgeons, kyphoplasty can provide immediate relief from pain and help patients return to a more active lifestyle.
Benefits of Kyphoplasty
Kyphoplasty restores vertebrae bone height and reverses spinal deformity.
It’s most effective when completed soon after the compression fractures occur, usually within two to three months. The procedure is primarily performed to repair fractures in the middle to lower spine and in the sacral region. Typically, it is not done in the upper spine because of the smaller size of the vertebrae Kyphoplasty.
Testing Prior to Kyphoplasty
Prior to having kyphoplasty, patients undergo an MRI to assess the acuity of the compression fracture. For patients who cannot undergo an MRI, a bone scan and CT scan combination can be performed to assess acuity. Optimal results are obtained in patients with active bone edema (swelling) on MRI, usually within two to six weeks of their fracture.
How Kyphoplasty is Performed
Kyphoplasty is performed on an outpatient basis, and patients are placed under either general or local anesthesia.
A balloon is introduced into the center of the vertebral body through a catheter to create a cavity in the bone and to increase the height of the fractured vertebra. The balloon is removed and replaced with bone cement, which is injected into the site. This procedure stabilizes the vertebrae and usually brings immediate pain relief to the patient.
he procedure takes about an hour for each bone that is treated. If necessary, more than one vertebral level can be performed in a single setting.
Kyphoplasty
The overwhelming majority of patients report no pain from the procedure. For many patients, pain relief is immediate. Other patients report the disappearance or reduction of pain within two days.
Post-procedural fluoroscopic images are obtained for documentation. Afterwards, patients remain in bed for two hours.
Following the procedure, patients quickly return to their normal daily activities.Patients can resume daily activities once they return home, but strenuous activity, such as heavy lifting, should be avoided for at least six weeks.
Make an Appointment
We welcome new patients. If you’d like to meet with one of WakeMed’s orthopaedic surgeons about the benefits and possibility of having a kyphoplasty performed, please make an appointment by calling us at 919-232-5020.