How to Use Kyphoplasty for Pain Management

Spinal compression fractures can trigger intense, searing pain. Kyphoplasty may be used as a pain management approach for those who suffer from this condition. Overall, kyphoplasty is a relatively risk-free affair when handled by a competent surgeon. Read on to learn how to use kyphoplsty for pain management.

Instructions

1. Have a talk with your physician. To be eligible for kyphoplasty, you will need to get a referral from your doctor, who will determine whether you're a suitable candidate.

2. Share your history. Before your appointment, a nurse may contact you to ask questions and get a handle on which medications you are currently taking. Take special care to be forthcoming if you use pain medications or blood thinners, or if you have any allergies.

3. Expect a hospital stay accompanying your kyphoplasty surgery. However, your time there will likely last no more than 24 hours.

4. Understand that you will need to arrange transportation from your surgery, since you will be in no condition to drive following your procedure.

5. Keep in mind that you may have to take laboratory tests just prior to your surgery. This is done to make sure that your blood is clotting as it needs to for an incident-free kyphoplasty.

6. Know what kyphoplasty entails. Your surgeon will insert two balloons into the fractured bone, inflating them to adjust the area of your vertebra that has collapsed, bringing it back to its original shape. After this has been achieved, the balloons are taken out, and the cavity they have created is filled with a cement-like material that serves to toughen the bone.

7. Understand what to expect by way of pain management subsequent to kyphoplasty. For some, pain reduction kicks in immediately. For others, it takes about two days.

8. Know that physical therapy may be recommended by your physician to help optimize results.

Tips & Warnings

• Kyphoplasty takes about 30 to 45 minutes for each fracture being addressed. After kyphoplasty, you will be able to get back to your normal routine almost immediately. However, it is recommended that you abstain from strenuous activity, like heavy lifting, for at least six weeks.

• The vertebra fractures that kyphoplasty is used to treat are usually experienced by seniors in the wake of the bone weakening that comes with osteoporosis. However, the condition is also seen in younger people. In such cases, it most often appears as a side effect of osteoporosis that develops after continuous, consistent steroid use.

• The primary risk of kyphoplasty is cement leakage. Should this occur, additional surgery may be required.