Kyphoplasty Specialist

What is kyphoplasty?

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive treatment designed to repair a broken or fractured vertebra. During this procedure, your pain management specialist restores the strength and height of your compressed vertebra by injecting a special cement inside the bone.

In most cases, kyphoplasty takes less than an hour. If your IPRMS provider must correct multiple vertebra at one time, your procedure will take a bit longer.

Most patients experience immediate pain relief after undergoing kyphoplasty.

Why do I need kyphoplasty?

Drs. Huffman and Ghazal might recommend kyphoplasty for a variety of reasons. It’s most used to repair vertebra weakened from osteoporosis or in some cases trauma or cancer.

Osteoporosis is a condition that causes loss of bone density. When this occurs, your bones grow structurally weak and fragile, making them vulnerable to breaks and fractures. Depending on the state of your vertebra, your IPRMS physician could even recommend kyphoplasty as a preventive therapy to reduce your risk of breaks and fractures in the future.

To determine if kyphoplasty is right for you, our IPRMS doctors will discuss your medical history and symptoms to determine if you’re a candidate for this procedure. Our doctors will check your vital signs, complete a directed physical examination, and review X-rays and other imaging studies to confirm that a vertebral fracture is the likely cause of your painful condition.

What can I expect during kyphoplasty?

When you have a kyphoplasty, you generally lie on your stomach throughout the entire procedure. The team prepares the treatment site by cleaning, sterilizing and draping. To keep you comfortable during your treatment, you receive a local anesthetic by injection in addition to intravenous sedation.

To repair your vertebra, the IPRMS physician will insert a hollow needle called a trocar into the treatment site using fluoroscopy. This special X-ray helps him locate the specific area needing repair.

After placement of the trocar, your IPRMS physician inserts a small balloon into your vertebra and inflates it to create space for the cement. A special bone cement is then injected into the balloon.  Fluoroscopy will be utilized to document appropriate cement spread without extravasation.

When your kyphoplasty procedure is complete, the trocar will be removed. Stitches are generally not required, and you can typically go home the same day.

To see if you’re a candidate for a kyphoplasty procedure, call Interventional Pain and Regenerative Medicine Specialists or schedule an appointment online today.