How does kyphoplasty work?

After pain control or anaesthesia, the clinician uses imaging to guide a narrow instrument through the back into the affected vertebra. A balloon is expanded inside the collapsed bone to create space and may help restore some vertebral shape. The balloon is removed, and the cavity is filled with bone cement, which hardens inside the vertebra and can improve its mechanical stability.

Kyphoplasty is generally considered for selected vertebral compression fractures after the cause, age of the fracture, symptoms, and other treatments have been assessed. Vertebroplasty is a related procedure that places cement without first creating a balloon cavity.

Tell the team about blood thinners, allergies, infection, pregnancy possibility, and any weakness or bladder or bowel changes. Arrange transport if sedation is planned. Follow instructions about medicines, wound care, lifting, and activity afterward. The procedure supports one vertebra; treatment for bone strength and the cause of the fracture may still be needed.

Contact your clinician for worsening back pain, fever, increasing redness or drainage at the puncture site, or new weakness or numbness. Seek urgent care for new trouble walking, loss of bladder or bowel control, severe chest pain, or sudden breathing difficulty.

What confirms that my fracture is suitable for kyphoplasty? What improvement is realistic for pain and movement, and what alternatives are available? How will you protect nerves and check the cement position, and when may I resume normal activity?