Procedures - Wilson Interventional Clinic, P.A.

With aging, many people, especially women, develop osteoporosis, which is a weakening of the bones. This can lead to compression fractures of the spine. The vertebrae are the bones in the back that are stacked up like blocks, one on top of the other. Once these bones become weak, it may take very little trauma to cause one or more to collapse. It may be a cough, or a fall, or sometimes nothing at all. The pain from such a fracture can be quite variable. Some do not even know that they have a fracture. Others must be admitted to the hospital for pain control. Most are somewhere in-between.

The traditional treatment has been pain pills and waiting, often weeks, for the pain to subside. In the last few years, a new approach has been developed. Using X-ray guidance, needles can be placed into the fractured bone. Cement can then be injected into the collapsed bone. This is called vertebroplasty.

A variation of this procedure is called kyphoplasty, which also involves placing needles into the bone. With kyphoplasty, balloons are then put into the bone and inflated. This can often restore the height of the collapsed bone. After the balloons are removed, the pockets left behind are filled with cement. Both procedures significantly reduce the pain of the fracture and help prevent further collapse.

Call our office for an appointment (870)425-3737.