Patient Information on Double Balloon Kyphoplasty / Quattroplasty™
What is a vertebral compression fracture?
The spinal column is the central load-bearing element of the skeleton. The human spine consists of 24 separate vertebrae, the intervertebral discs, the sacrum and the coccyx. It is devided into three spinal segments: cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Each vertebra consists of a short, cylindrical vertebral body, which is attached to the bony vertebral arches. The vertebral arches form the spinal canal, surrounding the spinal cord.
Causes
The vast majority of vertebral body fractures are associated with osteoporosis, a disease that mainly occurs in postmenopausal woman. Osteoporosis is a chronic, mostly age-related metabolic disease of the skeletal system, leading to a decrease in bone density and thus to increased susceptibility to bone fractures. Primary osteoporosis can also occur in ageing men. Osteoporotic fractures often occur in everyday situations, e.g. from sneezing, coughing, lifting objects, bending or stumbling. Accidents with high external forces or metastases or tumors on the spine may also lead to vertebral body fractures.
The following symptoms may indicate a vertebral compression fracture:
1. Severe back pain after everyday activities such as carrying shopping bags or gardening.
2. Regularly assuming a bent posture to reduce back pain.
3. Persistent back pain, increasing in upright posture or when walking.
Treatment of Vertebral Body Fractures
A vertebral body fracture should generally be treated without delay, both because it carries the risk of injury to the spinal cord and because vertebral bodies with older fractures are much harder to restore.
After clinical assessment and medical imaging, the treating physician can use standardised fracture classifications to categorise the fracture and determine the treatment strategy accordingly.
Vertebral fractures with compressed or collapsed upper or lower endplate or wedge fractures may be treated using the minimally-invasive and thus patient-friendly Double Balloon Kyphoplasty procedure, which may provide for internal stabilisation and restoration of the vertebral body.
The Balloon Kyphoplasty is a safe and effective treatment for osteoporotic and traumatic vertebral compression fractures (VCF).
The Balloon Kyphoplasty is safe for older patients.
Double Balloon Kyphoplasty Procedure explained in four steps
Benefits over Single Balloon Kyphoplasty
The Double Balloon technology provides the surgeon with four balloons instead of two balloons per vertebra to restore the height of the fractured vertebra.
This is comparable to a raft carried by four instead of two barrels and therefore it floats much more stably on the water.
