Kyphoplasty: How It Works And What To Expect

A compression fracture or a break in your vertebrae can be both painful and life-changing.

You may have difficulty moving or increased pain whenever you try to tackle your daily tasks, and this medical condition can alter your ability to enjoy your average, everyday life.

But the good news is there are options for long-term relief without a lengthy hospital stay, complicated surgery, or months of recovery time.

At ACellerated Interventional Orthopedics, we rely on several specialized and patient-specific medical treatments to find these solutions. And one route to addressing compression fractures is kyphoplasty.

What Is It

Kyphoplasty is a procedure doctors perform roughly 20,000 times per year in the United States alone. It’s a safe and minimally invasive way to address complicated issues in the spine.

Read to uncover the basics of this procedure, and what you can expect before, during, and after this unique but effective treatment for compression fractures, and other spinal issues.

How It Works

Surgeons perform kyphoplasty, a vertebral augmentation surgery when there are fractures in the vertebrae.

A myriad of issues can cause fractures, such as:

• Long-term conditions like osteoporosis
• One-time traumas like a car accident

During a kyphoplasty procedure, your surgeon makes a tiny incision in the back where they place a narrow tube.

The surgeon then carefully inserts a special balloon through the tube and into the vertebrae. They then gently inflate it to elevate the fracture, and to return the fragmented pieces into a normal position.

After it’s aligned, the surgeon uses cement-like materials to stabilize the bone for the long term. Kyphoplasty sounds complicated, and you clearly need an experienced surgeon to perform the procedure, but it’s actually fairly common with minimal risk.

Best of all, a lengthy hospital stay is not required. And the procedure can usually be completed quickly, with a single out-patient visit.

What to Expect Before and After

Leading up to a kyphoplasty procedure, your surgical team may perform a few routine tests on the day of your surgery to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

This may include imaging tests, such as an X-ray or MRI scan, to help identify the areas in need of repair, as well as blood tests and other monitors to ensure you are ready for the next steps.

After the procedure, you will likely have a short recovery period. This period may include a few easygoing exercises to ensure you can:

• Move
• Walk
• Do all of your regular physical activity

You will likely go home that same day. And depending on the extent of the fracture and any complications will likely start to feel like your old self within 48 hours.

So If Kyphoplasty Right for You?

There’s only one concrete way to determine if kyphoplasty is the best route for your spinal issues – schedule a consultation with ACellerated Interventional Orthopedics.

Patient-focused with years of experience, we’ll work with you one-on-one to find the best solutions for your unique medical issues and needs. We will then determine a long-term solution.

Resources

• Image attribution
• Medicalnewstoday.com
• Hopkinsmedicine.org
• Spine-health.com
• Healthline.com