Kyphoplasty

An MRI earlier last Tuesday showed that Mom has a number of reasons to have all this back pain, not the least of which is a compression fracture in her lower back.

When a compression fracture occurs the spine collapses a bit and the space between the discs becomes smaller, pinching nerves and causing pain. After consulting with some specialists Mom's doctor got her referred to someone who will do a procedure called a Kyphoplasty. There will be two injections done on either side of the spine where the fracture is. Tiny balloons are inserted into each site and inflated to increase the space between the discs. The balloons then come out and cement is injected in their place permanently restoring the height of the vertebra.

The scheduler for this procedure pointed me to an excellent video showing how this procedure works. To see it go to this page and click I Agree, then click on the "See Narrated Animation" link.

The procedure will be done under general anesthesia and will require one night's stay in the hospital. According to Mom's regular doctor they may do an epidural injection of numbing medicine for her at the same time. I am told that Kyphoplasty has a really good success rate for providing relief of the sharpest pain from a fracture. There will probably remain some residual pain from all the muscle trauma, but they will have physical therapy help her with that.

The bad news is that the only doctor in Olympia who does this procedure is out of the office next week. The soonest we can go in for the consultation is October 30. I'm not sure how soon after that we will be able to schedule the procedure.

In the meantime Mom is on two strong pain medications and still in pain. I am optimistic that the Kyphoplasty will provide some relief for Mom. I just hope she can hold out until the doctor can do it.