KYPHOPLASTY & VERTEBROPLASTY

Osteoporosis is a disease where the bones of the body lose their mineralization and become weak. It occurs mainly in older postmenopausal women, usually due to the hormonal changes that occur at that time. However, younger women as well as men can also be affected. It increases the chance of fractures, which more commonly occur in the hip and the spine.

Spine fractures due to osteoporosis are usually compression fractures where the vertebral body collapses. This can be very painful as well as cause malformations of the spine, mostly kyphosis! Those problems can increase mortality and decrease quality of life.

Kyphoplasty is a procedure that restores some of the vertebral height and reinforces the affected vertebra. It can also be used with some bone tumors (multiple myeloma).

The surgery is done under general anesthesia. Under XR guidance, needles are placed into the vertebral body and a balloon is introduced and blown open with liquid (saline solution). The balloon is then removed and the space that is created is then filled with methacrylate, a kind of medical plastic cement. This hardens instantly, immediately giving strength to the weak vertebra and stopping the pain.

The success rate to decrease pain is 90%. The procedure is well tolerated and the complication rate is less than 2%.

Complications have been due to extravasations of cement causing injuries to the nerve roots and very rarely the spinal cord. Infection and hemorrhage are other possible problems.

In vertebroplasty, only the cement is injected without first using a balloon. The vertebrae is fixed in its compressed position. This is done when the vertebra is only minimally collapsed.

Not everyone is a candidate, so you should check with your spine surgeon.