Patent ID: 8491591

Claim:
A method of stabilizing a patient's vertebral column by stabilizing a broken vertebra utilizing a hollow-cylindrical, plastically deformable supporting implant and a pressure balloon mounted to a pressure line, the method comprising the steps of: (a) making an incision in the patient's skin; (b) forming a duct through a cortical portion of the broken vertebra to access an interior cancellous portion of the vertebra; (c) inserting the pressure line, pressure balloon and plastically deformable supporting implant through the duct and into the interior cancellous portion of the vertebra, wherein the plastically deformable supporting implant comprises a wire mesh comprising openings, and wherein the wires of the mesh extend at an acute angle relative to each other; (d) injecting fluid into the pressure balloon and the pressure line to create an internal pressure in the pressure balloon and expand the pressure balloon, expansion of the pressure balloon causing the plastically deformable supporting implant to plastically deform from an initial, non-expanded state to an expanded state so that a hollow space is formed in the interior cancellous portion of the patient's vertebra and endplates of the vertebra are urged away from each other to generally return the broken vertebra to its original shape, wherein in the expandable state the acute angles of the mesh wires are widened; (e) constantly monitoring the internal pressure in step (d); (f) stopping the fluid injection of step (d) when a predetermined value of the internal pressure is reached; (g) withdrawing the fluid from the pressure balloon and the pressure line; (h) removing the pressure balloon and pressure line from the interior cancellous portion of the vertebra and the duct, thereby leaving the plastically deformed supporting implant within the vertebra in the expanded state to maintain the shape of the implant and support the vertebra to allow the broken vertebra to heal; and (i) closing the incision.