What is Kyphoplasty

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Kyphoplasty is a type of minimally invasive back surgery used in cases of vertebral fracture.

The purposes of this surgery are:

• stop the pain associated with the fracture
• stabilize the vertebra
• restore vertebral body height

In this procedure a surgical instrument is introduced into the spine with a balloon that is inflated to expand the bone. Once this instrument is withdrawn, the space is then filled with bone cement.

The procedure of Kyphoplasty is similar to Vertebroplasty except that in Vertebroplasty the cement is injected into the fracture without first inflating a balloon to lift the compressed disc.

Depending on the condition of the patient the procedure may be performed as an out patient procedure or in some advanced cases the patient may need to be hospitalized for a day or two. However, in most cases the patient is allowed to go home within hours of the procedure being completed.

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A paper in the New England Journal of Medicine published in August 2009 carried out a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to look at Kyphoplasty.

The researchers in Australia concluded "We found no beneficial effect of vertebroplasty as compared with a sham procedure in patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures, at 1 week or at 1, 3, or 6 months after treatment. (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN012605000079640.)"


A paper in The Lancet published in March 2009 covered a randomised controlled trial at 21 sites in eight countries.
The paper concluded "Our findings suggest that balloon kyphoplasty is an effective and safe procedure for patients with acute vertebral fractures and will help to inform decisions regarding its use as an early treatment option."
Note this paper was funded by Medtronic Spine LLC