Kyphoplasty (Spine Surgery)

If you sustain a spinal fracture, this can cause broken fragments of vertebrae to pinch and cause damage to your spinal nerve or your spinal cord. Depending on the severity of your injury, this can result in pain, difficulty walking, or paralysis. Severe damage to your spine may require surgical intervention.

At Barrington Orthopedic Specialists, our highly-trained, certified specialists can perform kyphoplasty, a surgical procedure that is designed to relieve pain caused by a spinal fracture by restoring the spine’s natural shape. Our team will work alongside you during your surgery and provide you with rehabilitative advice to ensure a quick and healthy recovery.

If you have sustained a spinal injury, we are here to provide you with the relief you deserve. Schedule your first consultation with the team at Barrington Orthopedic Specialists today. If you’re in an emergency situation, visit the Immediate Care Clinic at our Schaumburg, IL location.

What Is A Kyphoplasty?

The goals of a kyphoplasty surgical procedure are designed to stop the pain caused by a spinal fracture, to stabilize the bone, and to restore some or all of the lost vertebral body height due to the compression fracture.

Performing Kyphoplasty Surgery

1. During kyphoplasty surgery, a small incision is made in the back through which the doctor places a narrow tube. Using fluoroscopy to guide it to the correct position, the tube creates a path through the back into the fractured area through the pedicle of the involved vertebrae.
2. Using X-ray images, the doctor inserts a special balloon through the tube and into the vertebrae, then gently and carefully inflates it. As the balloon inflates, it elevates the fracture, returning the pieces to a more normal position. It also compacts the soft inner bone to create a cavity inside the vertebrae.
3. The balloon is removed and the doctor uses specially designed instruments under low pressure to fill the cavity with a cement-like material called polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). After being injected, the pasty material hardens quickly, stabilizing the bone.

Kyphoplasty surgery to treat a fracture from osteoporosis is performed at a hospital under local or general anesthesia. Other logistics for a typical kyphoplasty procedure are:

• The kyphoplasty procedure takes about one hour for each vertebra involved
• Patients will be observed closely in the recovery room immediately following the kyphoplasty procedure
• Patients may spend one day in the hospital after the kyphoplasty procedure

Patients should not drive until they are given approval by their doctor. If they are released the day of the kyphoplasty surgery, they will need to arrange for transportation home from the hospital.