“This is something we’ll do more and more often with sedation as we see the baby boomer generation age further,” Westesson said. URMC doctors perform more than 100 kyphoplasty procedures each year, providing much needed relief for aging adults with compression fractures. Each procedure was a success the pain was gone and she was able to resume her normal life. And then there was a third one. Each time we went back and had the second and third procedures she did really well.”ĭiGennaro had the first surgery on Sept. Two days later she was in pain again, and it was a break, but not the same place. “The pain went away immediately and she was back to her normal self again. “We were really worried that she’d never be able to enjoy her life again,” Galbraith said. And the spinal fracture was very painful and the medications to control the pain made her confused and exhausted, and as a result, she was bedridden The near-centenarian has always been an active, strong-willed woman, according to her daughter, Barbara Galbraith. DiGennaro and other elderly patients who suffer these types of injuries,” said Westesson, professor of Imaging Sciences. This procedure has been used for decades by doctors in Orthopedics, Neurosurgery and Interventional Radiology. Bukata recognized that traditional surgery under general anesthesia may not be best for DiGennaro, because it can elevate a risk of stroke in elderly patients. Bukata suggested Westesson perform kyphoplasty using sedation in an interventional radiology suite, rather than an operating room. The procedure involves injecting bone cement directly into the compression fracture and using balloons to shift the vertebrae back into place to relieve pain and hasten healing. Hannafon, FNP-C,MSN, of The Center for Bone Health, to care for DiGennaro.Īfter several weeks of being bedridden with back pain, DiGennaro’s family worried that she would never recover. They sought help from Bukata, who suggested balloon kyphoplasty. But his medical team has likely performed a series of scans and assessments to ascertain the full extent of any damage, and to decide on the most appropriate course of treatment.“Looking at the scans, you can see that bone had crumbled into pieces,” said Per-Lennart Westesson, M.D., D.D.S., Ph.D., a neuroradiologist who collaborated with Orthopedic surgeon Susan V. We’re not familiar with the details of Andrews’ case. This process often involves rehabilitation with physiotherapists and other health-care providers. If there’s no associated spinal cord injury or damage to the nerves in the area, a full recovery is likely, but this can take weeks or months. Patients with associated rib fractures may sometimes even have pain with breathing (particularly when taking big breaths). In general, a patient with a fractured T7 would experience pain when moving, and have difficulty standing for long periods. Victorian emergency departments during COVID-19: overall presentations down but assault, DIY injuries up In this group, males are significantly more likely to be injured. This is often a car accident, or a high-energy fall such as falling down the stairs. In younger patients, spinal fractures are much more likely to be the result of an accident. Vertebral fractures and the road to recoveryįractures (breaks) of the bones in our spine become more likely as we age, and are more common in women over 60, whose bones may be weaker as a result of osteoporosis. A compression fracture typically occurs in the vertebrae (bones of the. As this bone also has a pair of ribs attached, it is not a surprise his reported injuries also include broken ribs. Summary Compression fracture treatments can be surgical or nonsurgical, depending on the severity of the injury. The fracture seen in Andrews’ case appears to involve the seventh thoracic vertebra (T7), which is roughly halfway down the back. These attachments mean this region of the spine is much stiffer and less flexible than the other areas. The area Andrews has injured, the thoracic spine, forms a semi-rigid cage due to its attachment to the ribs. There are seven cervical vertebrae (C1-C7), 12 thoracic vertebrae (T1-T12), and five lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5). Your vertebral column (or spine) is composed of five main areas: the cervical spine (neck), the thoracic spine (where your ribs attach), the lumbar spine, and finally the sacrum and coccyx. Many of these are related to the bones that make up the spine.Įach of the individual bones in this region are called “vertebra”. ABOUT DIAGNOSIS TREATMENT Overview A compression fracture is usually defined as a vertebral bone in the spine that has decreased at least 15 percent to 20 percent in height due to fracture. ShutterstockĪbout four million Australians, or one in six, suffer from back problems. The spine is often describe as consisting of five main areas.
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