Kyphoplasty

Kyphoplasty is a highly effective, minimally invasive procedure to treat vertebral compression fractures. At Pain Management Centers of New England, with locations in Newburyport, Danvers, and Gloucester, Massachusetts, the region’s leading pain management professionals provide the best integrative and comprehensive care using the most advanced techniques. The balloon kyphoplasty procedure can restore your vertebrae and help you move without pain again. Call the nearest office or click the online scheduler to set up your consultation today.

Drs. Ho and Branton treat vertebral compression fractures (VCF)—sometimes called spine fractures—which is when your vertebra, or the bones in your spine, break and collapse. A VCF can cause pain, impacting quality of life. Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure to treat VCFs that stabilizes the fracture and provides pain relief.¹

In the balloon kyphoplasty procedure, balloons are inserted through small incisions on the back and are inflated to raise the collapsed vertebra and return it to its normal position. Once the vertebra is in the correct position, the balloons are deflated and removed. The resultant cavities are filled with bone cement forming an “internal cast” to support the surrounding bone and prevent further collapse. The procedure typically takes about one hour.

In most cases, Medicare provides coverage for Balloon Kyphoplasty. Other insurance plans often also cover the procedure. 

Balloon Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of VCFs due to osteoporosis, cancer or benign lesions. Although the complication rate for Kyphon™ Balloon Kyphoplasty is low, as with most surgical procedures, serious adverse events, some of which can be fatal, can occur, including heart attack, cardiac arrest (heart stops beating), stroke, and embolism (blood, fat, or cement that migrates to the lungs or heart). Other risks include infection; leakage of bone cement into the muscle and tissue surrounding the spinal cord and nerve injury that can, in rare instances, cause paralysis; leakage of bone cement into the blood vessels resulting in damage to the blood vessels, lungs, and/or heart. This procedure is not for everyone. A referral is required.

Please consult your physician for a discussion of these and other risks and whether this procedure is right for you.

• Boonen et al (2011). Balloon kyphoplasty for the treatment of acute vertebral compression fractures: 2-year results from a randomized trial. Journal for Bone and Mineral Research, 26: 1627–1637. doi:10.1002/jbmr.364

What is kyphoplasty?

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that repairs vertebral compression fractures — breaks in the bones that make up your spinal column.

A vertebral compression fracture can lead to severe chronic back pain. Untreated, a vertebral compression fracture can cause lost height and kyphosis (spinal hump). Kyphoplasty can restore damaged vertebrae, relieve pain, and prevent complications.

When might I need kyphoplasty?

You could need kyphoplasty if you have a fractured vertebra. The most common cause of vertebral compression fractures is osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease mainly affecting older adults.

Vertebral compression fractures that result from bone cancer and benign lesions can also respond well to kyphoplasty. The age of your vertebral compression fracture can influence your suitability for kyphoplasty. Generally, “the sooner, the better” applies in treating this type of fracture.

How does kyphoplasty work?

The Pain Management Centers of New England team uses the most effective procedures and approaches to ensure optimal results. They perform balloon kyphoplasty to restore fractured vertebrae to their original height and function. In this minimally invasive procedure, you receive local anesthesia and light sedation

Your surgeon creates a tiny incision (about a third of an inch wide) above the damaged vertebra and places a slender, hollow tube into the fractured vertebra. They guide a small balloon through the tube.

Then, your surgeon inflates the balloon slowly until your vertebra is back in its normal position. They deflate and withdraw the balloon, leaving a cavity inside your vertebra. Your surgeon then uses quick-hardening medical cement to fill the cavity.

The procedure keeps the vertebra in its optimal position. Usually, your surgeon performs the procedure once for each side of the affected vertebra. 

What results can I expect from kyphoplasty?

After your kyphoplasty, you can usually return home the same day. Most people experience benefits including: 

• Significantly less back pain (or even elimination of all back pain)
• Improved mobility
• A return to a more active lifestyle 

Many patients experience dramatic pain relief within hours of their balloon kyphoplasty procedure.

Kyphoplasty offers fast results and protects against serious spine problems in the future. To learn more about how this minimally invasive procedure can help you, call the nearest office or click the online scheduling link to make your appointment.

MORE FAQ

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is the most widespread degenerative disease in the developed world.  Globally, an osteoporotic fracture is estimated to occur every three seconds, with vertebral compression (spinal) fractures (VCFs) being the most common.^1,2

What are vertebral compression fractures and how common are they? 

Vertebral compression fractures are a collapse in the vertebra. Osteoporosis causes more than 700,000 spinal fractures each year in the U.S., more than twice the annual number of hip fractures.³ 

What causes vertebral compression fractures? 

VCFs are mainly the result of osteoporosis, but they can also be caused by cancer – the most common forms being multiple myeloma, breast, lung and prostate.⁴ According to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the majority of patients with multiple myeloma experience progressive bone destruction, particularly in the spine, because rapidly growing myeloma cells push normal bone-forming cells aside.⁵  

Are vertebral compression fractures widely diagnosed? 

Although osteoporotic fractures of the spine are the most common type of fragility fracture, they remain largely undiagnosed and untreated. Up to two-thirds are not recognized by doctors. Untreated, as many as one in five women with a spinal fracture will sustain another within 12 months, often referred to as the “fracture cascade.” Just 40 percent of older women and less than 20 percent of men with spinal fractures visible on X-ray are tested for osteoporosis.³

What is kyphosis?

Some spinal fractures may collapse immediately while others collapse over time, resulting in a condition called kyphosis, or rounded back. Kyphosis, signified by the so-called dowager’s hump, compresses the chest and abdominal cavity, which can result in serious negative health and quality-of-life (QOL) consequences such as:

Restoring normal spine anatomy can help a patient avoid the negative health and QOL consequences of a rounded back.

How are VCFs treated?

The current standard of care for a spine fracture is bed rest, pain medication, physical therapy, bracing and local steroid injections.³ However, this approach does little to treat or prevent kyphosis.

What is Balloon Kyphoplasty? 

Balloon Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive treatment that corrects vertebral deformity and stabilizes VCFs, thereby providing pain relief.

How is the Balloon Kyphoplasty procedure performed? 

Through a pair of small incisions each approximately 1 cm in length, the specialty physician uses a needle and cannula to create a small pathway into each side of a fractured vertebral body. A small balloon is guided through each cannula into the vertebra. Each balloon is 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 balloons are deflated and removed.  The resultant cavities are filled with bone cement forming an “internal cast” to support the surrounding bone and prevent further collapse. 

How long does Balloon Kyphoplasty take?

The Balloon Kyphoplasty procedure typically takes about one hour per fracture and may be performed in an outpatient setting. The procedure can be done using either local or general anesthesia; the specialty physician will determine the most appropriate method, based on the patient’s overall condition.

What are the benefits of Balloon Kyphoplasty?

Studies report the following benefits:

Restoring normal spine anatomy can help a patient avoid the negative health and QOL consequences of a rounded back.

Is Balloon Kyphoplasty covered by insurance?

In most cases, Medicare provides coverage for Balloon Kyphoplasty. Other insurance plans often also cover the procedure. 

Although the complication rate with Kyphon™ Balloon Kyphoplasty has been demonstrated to be low, as with most surgical procedures, there are risks associated with the procedure, including serious complications. This procedure is not for everyone. A prescription is required. Patients should consult their physician for a full discussion of risks and whether this procedure is right for them.

For more information on balloon kyphoplasty, visit back.com/kyphoplasty.

• Osteoporosis (n.d.) In International Osteoporosis Foundation.  Retrieved from http://www.iofbonehealth.org/osteoporosis
• Vertebral Compression Fractures (2007) In American Association of Neurological Surgeons.  Retrieved from http://www.aans.org/Patient%20Information/Conditions%20and%20Treatments/Vertebral%20Compression%20Fractures.aspx
• Bouxsein , M. L., & Genant, H. K.  (2010). The Breaking Spine.  International Osteoporosis Foundation.  Retrieved August 24, 2012, from http://testsite.iofbonehealth.org/docs/publications/the-breaking-spine.html
• Berenson, et al (2011).  Balloon Kyphoplasty versus Non-Surgical Fracture Management for Treatment of Painful Vertebral Body Compression Fractures in Patients with Cancer: A Multicentre, Randomised Controlled Trial.  The Lancet Oncology: 2011; 12: 225-235; DOI:  10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70008-0.
• Patients Starting Treatment: Living While Undergoing Treatment (n.d.) In Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.  Retrieved from http://www.themmrf.org/living-with-multiple-myeloma/patients-starting-treatment/symptoms-and-side-effects/surgery.html
• Boonen et al  (2011). Balloon kyphoplasty for the treatment of acute vertebral compression fractures: 2-year results from a randomized trial. Journal for Bone and Mineral Research, 26: 1627–1637. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.364
• Zampini, et al (2010). Comparison of 5766 Vertebral Compression Fractures Treated With or Without Kyphoplasty.   Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research: 2010; 468: 773-780; DOI: 10.1007/s11999-010-1279-7
• Wardlaw, et al (2009). Efficacy and Safety of Balloon Kyphoplasty Compared with Non-Surgical Care for Vertebral Compression Fracture (FREE) a Randomised Controlled Trial.  The Lancet 2009; 373: 1016-1024; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60010-6.

**BKP short and long-term claims are also summarized in the Tab 10 document submitted to FDA.