Back Pain Vertebroplasty is a special procedure getting recognition for its role in alleviating pain, improving mobility, and deterring surgery, for patients with compression fractures. The procedure involves injecting bone cement into the spine to reinforce collapsing vertebrae.
Patients receive significant, often immediate, acute pain relief.
Plasty is a word ending meaning molding or surgically forming. The compound quickly hardens and forms inside the vertebra, restoring strength to the fractured vertebral body. The procedure was performed for the first time in Northwest Ohio, last January, at the Center for Vascular and Interventional Radiology, at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center,in Toledo. The patient remains awake during the duration of what is described as a simple outpatient procedure. A local anesthetic is given to keep the patient pain-free and calm, while the radiologist uses imaging techniques, such as CT scanning and fluoroscopy, to guide placement of the needle during the procedure.