Kyphoplasty is procedure that’s been out now over 20 years. It involves treatment for fractures in the lower, mid back or low back that are unresponsive to non-surgical treatment. A needle is placed in the broken bone and through the needle. A balloon is passed. The balloon is inflated, and surgical cement is put into the fracture instantly fixing it.
For a while we thought that pretty much everybody with a fracture in these areas needed a kyphoplasty and as quick as a fashion possible. Now we know that it’s been out for a long enough time, has been studied that it’s not a procedure that should be done in everybody, but rather, certain cases that take longer to heal or, or patients with a fracture that collapses worse.