Gateway Medical Center now offers Balloon Kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive treatment option for patients suffering from spinal fractures due to osteoporosis. Balloon Kyphoplasty is designed to correct spinal deformity due to osteoporotic fractures, significantly reducing back pain and improving a patient’s ability to return to daily activities.
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the bones of the spine to weaken and often collapse, resulting in spinal fractures. Left untreated, one fracture can lead to subsequent fractures, often resulting in a condition called kyphosis, or rounded back. Kyphosis, signified by the dowager’s hump, can compress the chest and abdominal cavity. Osteoporosis causes more than 700,000 spinal fractures each year in the U.S. — more than twice the annual number of hip fractures according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Traditional treatment for spinal fractures includes bed rest, medication and back bracing. While these therapies may help to decrease a patient’s pain over time, they do not treat the deformity related to the osteoporotic fractures.
Balloon Kyphoplasty is designed to repair vertebral compression fractures and restore the vertebrae to the correct position, reducing back pain, reducing the number of days in bed, significantly improving mobility and increasing overall quality of life. “This is the best treatment option available for compressed bone fractures due to osteoporosis. It is very effective in getting patients up and active again,” said Dr. Daniel Starnes, Interventional Radiologist at Gateway Medical Center.
During the Balloon Kyphoplasty procedure, a physician creates a small pathway into the fractured bone. A small, orthopaedic balloon is guided through the instrument into the vertebra. The incision site is approximately one cm in length. The balloon is then carefully inflated in an attempt to raise the collapsed vertebra and return it to its normal position. Inflation of the balloon creates a void (cavity) in the vertebral body. Once the vertebra is in the correct position, the balloon is deflated and removed. The cavity is filled with bone cement forming an “internal cast” to support the surrounding bone and prevent further collapse. Generally, the procedure is done on both sides of the vertebral body. (see illustration below)
The Balloon Kyphoplasty procedure typically takes about one hour per fracture and may require an overnight hospital stay. The physician will determine whether to use local or general anesthesia based on the patient’s overall condition.
In most cases, Medicare provides coverage for Balloon Kyphoplasty. Other insurance plans may also cover the procedure.
Talk to your doctor to find out it Balloon Kyphoplasty might be right for you.
