Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive surgery. The procedure involves making a tiny puncture in the skin rather than making a larger incision. The entire Kyphoplasty procedure takes about 1 to 2 hours for each vertebral level.
The Reasons Why Professionals Recommend this Procedure:
- It helps in restoring some of the missing vertebral height.
- Stabilizes the vertebra that is fractured.
- Eliminates the associated back pain.
Around 1.5 million Americans who have faced Vertebral compression fractures have been part of the Kyphoplasty Chandler team of Apex Pain Specialists. They are a team of well-skilled and board-certified professionals. Get in touch with them, if you have any problems related to your back.
Prepping up with Kyphoplasty:
Before getting Kyphoplasty done, it is recommended to reduce or stop any kind of unhealthy behavior, such as tobacco and alcohol consumption. After the procedure, the usage of tobacco can delay the healing process. The medications for the procedure start a week before the actual surgery.
Blood thinners or NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can increase the risk of complications during the procedure. It can negatively interact with the anesthesia. The final decision of stopping these medications depends on the patients’ risk and needs.
The most important step before the surgery is that the patient is on empty stomach at least six hours prior to the procedure. However, the patient can drink little bit of water 2 hours after the surgery. Here is how the procedure goes step by step:
- On the padded table, the patient is made to lie down. The area where the needles are placed is cleaned well. The use of anesthesia and slight sedation is done, which puts the patient in deep sleep and he/she doesn’t feel the pain during the procedure.
- The incision is done on the back from where the narrow tube is placed. With the help of fluoroscopy, the tube gets pushed in the path of the vertebra involved and then reaches the fractured area.
- The bone tamp is inserted through the tube into the vertebra and inflates gently. The inflammation of the balloon creates a cavity in the soft inner bone in the vertebra and gets the natural height of the vertebral body.
- The balloon is removed. The specially designed instrument is used to fill the cavity with polymethylmethacrylate. It quickly gets hard and stabilizes the bone.
Once the surgery is done, the patient is kept under observation. The self-care has to be followed once you are back home to avoid any risk.
