Vertebral osteoplasty- the new procedure, can alleviate the
numbing back pain in osteoporosis patients.
According to estimates, as many as 700,000 vertebral compression
fractures (related to osteoporosis) appear annually. So far
treatment options for these fractures have been limited to
prescribing pain
medications, decreased activity, or bed rest. Only few
patients, however, felt relief. Now, vertebral osteoplasty is
available for them.
Vertebral osteoplasty is designed to bring considerable relief
for back pain that results from spinal compression fractures in
the thoraco-lumbar spine. This technique is a not an invasive
procedure. It ensures surgeons easier access to a patient's
vertebral body (where a cushion of pain-relieving material can
be located). This method has been more and more often used by
surgeons, thanks to its positive results. It also appears that
this method is extraordinarily effective- patients who have
entered the hospital on the wheelchair walk out the next day.
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How to perform the procedure? Firstly, the needle is placed
(through the skin) to the area of the spine in need of treatment
through fluoroscopic guidance. Then, the bone cement in injected
into the collapsed and the two adjacent vertebral bodies of the
spine to reinforce the bone. The cement hardens within about 5
minutes. As a result it becomes a spinal reinforcement. The
procedure lasts about 15 minutes per vertebra.
One of the surgeons who have been pioneering the procedure is a
spine surgeon Ralph Rashbaum, M.D., who is medical director and
co-founder of Texas Back Institute. "Vertebral osteoplasty has
revolutionized the treatment of osteoporotic compression
fractures. Prior to this procedure, patients had to suffer for
months with significant pain because traditional spinal surgery
procedures were too invasive and too risky for older patients,
often with many other health problems. Now, patients are
reporting significant and often complete resolution of their
pain with a simple procedure that has them back to their daily
activities within 1-2 days."- he says.
According to Dr. Rashbaum, apart from patients benefits, the
procedure has also benefits for surgeons who utilize the
technique. "By making a small stab incision and injecting bone
cement through a cannula no bigger than a straw," he said, "I
can restore the strength of the vertebrae as well as relieve the
pain. The entire procedure time is less than 30 minutes and the
complication rate is negligibly small." The method is introduced
in the growing number of hospitals all over the country. It
requires a one- night stay of a patient. The patients are
usually elderly women, due to the fact that they are more
susceptible to osteoporosis.
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