Kyphoplasty

What is a kyphoplasty?

Compression fractures affect more Americans than hip fractures and can result in long-term disability. To address painful, progressive vertebral compression fractures, surgeons at the Florida Hospital Celebration Health Spine Center use a new minimally invasive treatment known as a kyphoplasty.

A kyphoplasty can alleviate up to 90% of the pain associated with compression factures as well as reduce deformity and restore height that has been lost, either due to aging or disease, such as osteoporosis.

How is a kyphoplasty performed?

A kyphoplasty is performed under local or general anesthesia.

Surgeons at the Florida Hospital Celebration Health Spine Center begin the kyphoplasty by making two small incisions in the back at the fracture location. The bone is then drilled and a balloon tamp is inserted on each side. As the balloons inflate, they expand to the desired height and are removed. The remaining space is then filled with cement that is allowed to harden.

Benefits of the kyphoplasty include:

• Reduced surgery time
• The ability to use a local or general anesthesia
• A short hospital stay, usually 24-hours or less
• A return to normal activities much sooner
• No required bracing

What can I expect after surgery?

In most cases, you can look forward to pain subsiding within two weeks of surgery. The source of this pain is the stretching and realignment of the tissues. Most patients don’t require physical therapy and, because the surgery is minimally invasive, recovery is relatively fast and straightforward.

Patients will notice that function and mobility improve quickly and future fractures in that area will be less likely.

As one of the leaders in this new procedure, the surgeons at the Florida Hospital Celebration Health Spine Center have the experience you’re looking for to perform a successful kyphoplasty that can help you enjoy a full and active life, free of pain and complications.