What if vertebroplasty does not work

Your doctor will likely order an X-ray , take a complete medical history and do a physical exam to determine the precise location and nature of your vertebra-related pain. Tell your doctor about all prescription and over-the-counter medications and any herbal supplements you are taking.

Tell your doctor if you have a history of bleeding disorders or if you are taking any anticoagulant blood-thinning medications, aspirin or other medications that affect blood clotting. Gives you sedation medication to help you relax and keep calm during the procedure, or general anesthesia for severe pain. Uses a continuous X-ray to guide the needle into the fractured vertebra, with your body protected from the radiation.

Slowly injects cement into the vertebra. Depending on how the cement enters the vertebra, your doctor might apply a second injection to completely fill it. You may experience pain relief almost immediately after the procedure, but it might take up to 72 hours. Your doctor can provide you with over-the-counter pain relievers for the temporary discomfort.

Health Home Treatments, Tests and Therapies. This is not a complete list of possible vertebroplasty complications. Also, it is not yet known whether vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty increases the risk of another fracture in the spine or ribs, but it is known that a patient sustaining an osteoporotic fracture is already at risk for additional fractures. See Multiple Compression Fractures. See Compression Fracture Treatment. See Insights on Choosing a Spine Surgeon. Diagnosing Vertebral Compression Fractures.

Compression Fracture Treatment. MIS procedures usually cause less discomfort and pain afterward, leading to a shorter hospital stay. When you experience less pain, it can also reduce how many painkillers you need following surgery. Faster recovery time : Traditional surgery typically leads to longer recovery times, particularly if your muscles in the area surrounding the surgery site became damaged during the surgery.

Better cosmetic results: The skin incisions are smaller, often as small as two centimeters , so they will heal with more discreet scarring. Options for local anesthesia: Some surgeons perform MIS procedures as outpatient surgeries and use only local anesthesia. Decreased risk of infection: Large incisions like with open spinal surgery and soft tissue damage can increase your risk of infection. While MIS could pose some complications, as with any procedure, some studies show a decreased infection rate with MIS when compared to open spinal surgery.

Less surgical blood loss: A frequent concern with open spinal surgery is perioperative blood loss, which often requires surgeons to perform an allogeneic transfusion. MIS procedures reduce surgical trauma, which results in reduced surgical blood loss. Lumbar Radiofrequency Ablation Lumbar radiofrequency ablation disrupts the sensory signals to your facet joint. Kyphoplasty Kyphoplasty helps relieve spinal compression fractures.

Vertebroplasty Vertebroplasty also uses surgical vertebrae filling to relieve spinal compression fractures, restoring the original configuration and shape. Spinal Cord Stimulator You can experience pain relief through mechanical stimulation. Benefits of this treatment are: Fast return to work Local anesthesia Restores function No incision Go home the same day of the procedure No scarring Relief of back pain Reduced reliance on medicine Minimally invasive procedure To see if you are a good candidate for this procedure, you would need to take a pain evaluation questionnaire through SINA, and have a member of the team follow up with you.

Endoscopic Rhizotomy Endoscopic rhizotomy is one of the least invasive procedures and gives our physicians a way to visualize the nerves that connect your brain to the pain signal of the muscles in your back. You may want to schedule an endoscopic rhizotomy if you suffer from: Muscle spasms Chronic back pain Failed back surgery Facet Joint Syndrome Facet related arthritis Chronic low back pain Pain when leaning backward but not forward You can take a pain evaluation questionnaire to see if you may be a good candidate for endoscopic rhizotomy.

Pain Management Injections There are several pain management injections to help relieve your pain. Lumbar epidural steroid injection : The doctor injects a lidocaine and steroid anesthetic under fluoroscopy x-ray while you remain under conscious sedation. After the lumbar epidural steroid injection, if your pain diminishes, the doctor can tell where your pain originates. Lumbar facet joint injection : This injection helps the doctor pinpoint the cause of your back pain to provide substantial relief from inflammation and pain.

Lumbar sympathetic nerve block : If the doctor suspects a potential abnormality on your MRI or x-ray, they might try a nerve block to help them confirm where your pain is coming from and the area of your spine affected.

It also helps diagnose some headache pain. The surgeon performs this injection on an outpatient procedure. Cervical sympathetic nerve block : The doctor uses this procedure for discovering if your sympathetic nerves are causing the pain in your neck, shoulders or arms. Cervical epidural steroid injection : By injecting a steroid into the cervical epidural area around your spinal cord, the doctor can help relieve your pain and inflammation.

It can reduce swelling and pain in your shoulders, arms and neck. Sacroiliac joint injection : The doctor mainly uses this injection for diagnosing and providing lower back pain relief and, in some cases, sciatica symptoms.

Caudal epidural steroid injection : The doctor injects an anesthetic like lidocaine and steroid through your spine and into your epidural space where you have irritated and inflamed spinal nerves. They use the injection to treat back and neck pain.