Balloon Kyphoplasty

Glaser Pain Relief Center

Interventional Pain Management Specialists located in San Fernando Valley, Encino, CA

If you suffer a vertebral compression fracture, balloon kyphoplasty can successfully fix your break. Balloon kyphoplasty stops the pain, restores mobility, and speeds up your body’s healing process. At Glaser Pain Relief Center in Encino, California, Jeffrey Glaser, MD, and John Zheng, DO, use balloon kyphoplasty to treat painful vertebral compression fractures. People throughout the San Fernando Valley and the Greater Los Angeles Area regularly visit the practice to receive high-quality orthopedic care. Call Glaser Pain Relief Center today to request a balloon kyphoplasty consultation or make your appointment online.

818-501-7246

Balloon Kyphoplasty Q & A

What is balloon kyphoplasty?

Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure to treat a vertebral compression fracture (break of a spine bone).

Without intervention and treatment, an acute compression fracture causes severe pain. Additionally, your affected vertebra may break down or collapse, affecting the shape and health of your spine. Balloon kyphoplasty can alleviate the pain associated with a compression fracture of the spine, prevent the damage from worsening and help you return to your favorite activities.

Who can benefit from balloon kyphoplasty?

You may qualify for balloon kyphoplasty if you’ve recently been diagnosed with a vertebral compression fracture. Patients respond best to this procedure when the surgery is performed in the first eight weeks following a fracture. However, patients with painful fractures up to 12 weeks old may qualify. Repairing a vertebral compression fracture often provides immediate relief allowing patients to carry on without the unbearable pain caused by the break.

How do I prepare for balloon kyphoplasty?

Before recommending balloon kyphoplasty, your Glaser Pain Relief Center physician reviews your medical records, completes a physical exam, and takes a series of spinal X-rays. An MRI or CT scan may also be indicated. If your imaging studies confirm you have a compression fracture (or fractures), you may qualify for the minimally invasive balloon kyphoplasty procedure. Again, patients respond best to balloon kyphoplasty in the first eight weeks following their fracture. So seeking early treatment is critically important.

Tell your physician about the medicines, supplements, and vitamins you take and if you have allergies. You may need to stop taking certain drugs, such as aspirin and other blood thinners, before your procedure to reduce the risk of bleeding.

What happens during balloon kyphoplasty?

Your Glaser Pain Relief Center physician performs balloon kyphoplasty at an outpatient surgery center. You usually go home an hour after the procedure. During the surgery, an anesthesiologist administers sedation for your comfort.

Your surgeon makes a small incision above your fractured vertebra. They then use X-ray imaging to insert a hollow needle, called a trocar, through the incision and into your fractured vertebral body. Once correctly positioned, a balloon is used to make a cavity around the fracture to accommodate the reparative cement called methylmethacrylate (MMA). The fracture is then filled with cement to repair the break. This provides strength and integrity to the spine bone (vertebrae) and virtually immediately alleviates the pain associated with a vertebral compression fracture. The whole procedure usually takes less than a half hour.

Your surgeon closes the incision with a small bandage. Sutures are usually not necessary. You are taken to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), where you will stay approximately an hour before being discharged home.

What is recovery like after balloon kyphoplasty?

Balloon kyphoplasty is an outpatient procedure, so you don’t need to stay in the hospital.

After treatment, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and take your medications as prescribed. You can return to work and other activities within a day or two, but avoid heavy lifting for at least six weeks.

Call Glaser Pain Relief Center today to learn more about balloon kyphoplasty, or make an appointment online.