| Minimally invasive treatment for osteoporotic spinal compression fractures is now available at Northwest Hospital Center through a procedure called kyphoplasty.
Myles Brager, M.D., medical director of the Spine Center at Northwest Hospital, recently performed the first kyphoplasty procedure at the Randallstown hospital. Kyphoplasty is used to stop pain associated with bone fractures, stabilize the bone and restore vertebral body height that occurs with spinal compression fractures.
Kyphoplasty has proven to provide relief that was never before attainable through previous methods,� says Brager, who practices in Owings Mills, Eldersburg and Westminster. Many patients who were incapacitated by the pain of osteoporotic compression fractures can now be relieved of their pain with the kyphoplasty procedure.�
Kyphoplasty involves inflating a special medical balloon inside the fractured vertebra to restore height to the bone prior to the injection of medical cement. This stabilizes the fracture and promotes healing. The stabilization alone can provide immediate pain relief for many patients.
Kyphoplasty is performed through a small incision in the back. A narrow tube, placed in the incision, is guided to the correct position using fluoroscopy. The physician uses X-ray images to insert the medical balloon into the tube and into the vertebra. The balloon is gently inflated, elevating the fracture and returning the pieces of the vertebra to a more normal position. The inner bone is also compacted, creating a cavity which is filled with medical bone cement that hardens quickly and stabilizes the bone.
The procedure is performed under local or general anesthesia, and lasts approximately one hour per vertebra involved. Some patients are released home within hours; others remain in the hospital overnight. Patients are allowed to resume walking immediately after the procedure.
Kyphoplasty should be performed within eight weeks of when the fracture occurred for the highest probability of successfully restoring height to the collapsed vertebra.
Northwest Hospital Center is a member of LifeBridge Health, a regional health organization, which includes Sinai Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and affiliates.
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