Kyphoplasty

If osteoporosis weakens your spine and causes a compression fracture, it’s time to consider kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive procedure that restores the bone’s natural shape and strength. The fellowship-trained team at the Brain and Spine Center of South Florida, in Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, have extensive experience successfully performing kyphoplasty, easing your pain and improving your quality of life. To schedule an appointment, call the nearest office or use the online booking feature today.

What is kyphoplasty?

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure to treat a collapsed spinal vertebra. Your vertebrae may collapse if you have a spinal tumor or infection. However, this problem most often happens when osteoporosis causes a vertebral compression fracture.

Osteoporosis — the loss of bone — leads to brittle, weak, fragile bones. As a result, your vertebrae collapse because they can’t stand up to the body weight and movement they usually support.

Osteoporosis makes the vertebrae so weak that it doesn’t take much force to cause a compression fracture. A strong, prolonged cough or turning to the side (twisting your spine) may lead to a sudden collapse.

What symptoms indicate I need kyphoplasty?

Vertebral compression fractures most often affect your middle or upper back (thoracic spine) but may appear in your lower back (lumbar spine). After a vertebra collapses, you may have:

• Sudden back pain
• Pain that gradually gets worse
• Difficulty moving
• Pain that feels worse when walking
• Pain that improves when lying down
• Round-back deformity (kyphosis)

When osteoporosis leads to a vertebral compression fracture, the front part of the vertebra collapses while the back side maintains its original height. As a result, the bone takes on a wedge-like shape.

If two or more adjacent vertebrae collapse, their new wedge shapes combine to create a curved or rounded upper back. This deformity is called kyphosis.

What happens during kyphoplasty?

Your neurosurgeon at the Brain and Spine Center of South Florida uses real-time X-ray imaging to view your spine. They insert a hollow needle through your skin, guide it into the vertebra, and inflate a medical-grade balloon.

The balloon restores the vertebra’s height and creates an open space in the middle of the bone. Your neurosurgeon removes the balloon and injects bone cement, which fills the space and hardens.

As the cement restores the vertebra’s shape and strength, your pain disappears, and you regain spinal strength and stability.

When should I have kyphoplasty?

You can’t have kyphoplasty if the vertebra heals in the collapsed position. Most compression fractures heal in 8-10 weeks. 

If you have back pain in your middle or upper back, don’t wait to schedule an appointment at the Brain and Spine Center of South Florida. Call or use the online booking feature right away.