Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are minimally-invasive procedures used to treat vertebral compression fractures.

The two procedures utilize bone cement to alleviate pain and stabilize the vertebral fracture, but which option is best for you?

What is vertebroplasty?

The vertebroplasty procedure includes the percutaneous injection of bone cement into the cancellous bone of the vertebral body. The main goal of the vertebroplasty procedure is to provide pain alleviation while fighting to decrease the loss of vertebral body height.

What is kyphoplasty?

A kyphoplasty procedure is similar to vertebroplasty, except the kyphoplasty utilizes a small balloon first to increase the vertebral body height and then injects the bone cement into the cancellous bone.

Kyphoplasty vs. Vertebroplasty

Both kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty utilize bone cement to treat compression fractures. The main difference between the two is the use of the balloon in the kyphoplasty procedure.

When injecting the bone cement with the use of the balloon, the pressure of the injection site is significantly lower compared to the injection site during vertebroplasty.

Although there is a lack of comparative studies between the two procedures, some findings show the kyphoplasty procedure has a greater effect of decreasing the loss of vertebral height and decreasing kyphosis of the spine.

Both procedures have been proven to be extremely safe, but there is evidence that shows a decreased chance of cement leaking with kyphoplasty compared to vertebroplasty.

Both procedures have been found to reduce a patient’s pain level significantly.

What is the Recovery Time for a Kyphoplasty or Vertebroplasty Procedure?

Patients who undergo Vertebroplasties or Kyphoplasties typically feel immediate pain relief and fully recover from any procedural pain within 24 – 48 hours.

Who Can Perform Kyphoplasty vs. Vertebroplasty?

Drs . Giuffrida and Westerhaus are the leading interventional spine & pain management physicians at Cantor Spine Center and perform kyphoplasties and vertebroplasties.

At Cantor Spine Center, Drs. Giuffrida and Westerhaus prefer the kyphoplasty procedure over the vertebroplasty procedure. With numerous successful kyphoplasties, our patients are in excellent hands when they need to have a compression fractures fixed.

If you would like to learn more about kyphoplasty or would like a consultation with either Drs. Giuffrida or Westerhaus, call us at 954.567.1332 or click here!