Are There Any Negative Side Effects Associated With Kyphoplasty?
Medical science has relied on kyphoplasty for years as a safe and minimally invasive way to alleviate the pain of compression fractures in the spine. The kyphoplasty procedure is an outpatient procedure that can usually be performed in under an hour. Here is the big question: are there any negative side effects associated with it?
Yes. As with all things in healthcare, kyphoplasty is linked to a number of negative side effects. However, numerous studies have shown that the rate of serious complications is a mere 4%. Those are pretty good odds when you consider how painful compression fractures can be.
Repairing Fractures With Kyphoplasty
A compression fracture is a fracture resulting from bone collapse. Imagine the spine, which is made up of a number of bones stacked one on top of another with a spongy disc in between. If one of those bones degenerates and collapses, the tissue around it gets compressed. This is what causes the pain. Nerves compressed by collapsed bones can send pain throughout the back.
Kyphoplasty relieves the pain by restoring the spine to its natural position. How so? By inserting a balloon into the collapsed bone, inflating it to create empty space, and then filling that space with bone cement. It’s all done using a specialized needle along with imaging equipment that ensures the doctor places the bone cement in the right location.
Potential Complications From Kyphoplasty
Kyphoplasty side effects include pain at the injection site along with the risk of infection. Note that both side effects are common with all types of injection therapies. As for complications, there are some to consider:
- Adjacent Fractures – Fractures in adjacent vertebrae are always a risk. They are fairly common following a similar procedure known as vertebroplasty. In fact, adjacent fractures occur in as many as 12.4% of vertebroplasty patients. It is unclear how high the risk is for kyphoplasty patients.
- Spinal Stenosis – It’s possible that a collapsed bone treated with kyphoplasty can collapse again in the future. If that happens, it could lead to spinal stenosis.
- Loss of Height – Even when re-collapsed vertebrae don’t lead to spinal stenosis, a patient is likely to experience some loss of height. This particular complication affects about 2% of kyphoplasty patients.
- Cement Leakage – Cement leakage is always possible with kyphoplasty. When detected and addressed immediately, it is no big deal. But if missed, leaked cement can enter the spinal canal or compress surrounding nerves.
- Infection – Above and beyond injection site infection, bones and surrounding tissue can also become infected. One possible complication from infection is spondylitis.
- Chronic Pain – In rare cases, kyphoplasty does not relieve a patient’s pain. The pain continues chronically thereafter. Patients can even report a worsening of their pain following the procedure.
- Allergic Reaction – Finally, it is always possible for a patient to demonstrate an allergic reaction to either the bone cement or some of the other materials used during kyphoplasty. Allergic reactions are very treatable.
Kyphoplasty is one of the treatment options offered at Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, TX. Lone Star doctors are quick to remind potential candidates that the risk of developing life altering complications as a result of the procedure is quite slim.
Treating compression fractures in the spine with kyphoplasty has been standard practice for years. Kyphoplasty has helped untold numbers of patients regain mobility, improve posture, and get back to living pain free lives. It might be worth your while to investigate kyphoplasty if you are living with one or more compression fractures. The worst that can happen is your doctor advising you that kyphoplasty isn’t a good option.
