Hospital offers new treatment

Heywood Hospital has begun to offer a minimally invasive surgical treatment that can reduce back pain, stabilize a Vertebral Compression Fracture (VCF), and restore height and spinal alignment, according to Director of Radiology David Woodford in a press release.

The procedure responsible for this is Balloon Kyphoplasty.

As of the end of March, Thanawalla has performed the Balloon Kyphoplasty procedure on more than 100 patients, with his oldest patient being 95.

"This procedure is a true advancement for our patients," said Farid Thanawalla, MD, MBBS, CAQ, Interventional Radiologist at Heywood Hospital. "It is a safe procedure that significantly reduces back pain, improves quality of life, mobility and enhances the ability to perform daily activities," he said.

Balloon Kyphoplasty is designed to correct spinal deformity due to osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the bones of the spine to weaken and often collapse, resulting in spinal fractures. More than 700,000 patients in the United States suffer from spinal fractures due to osteoporosis.

With a hollow instrument, the surgeon creates a small pathway through an incision about one centimeter in length into the fractured bone. The hollow instrument is then used to guide a small orthopedic balloon into the compressed vertebra. The balloon is then cautiously inflated to raise the collapsed vertebra into its proper position.

Once the vertebra is in the corrected position, the balloon is then deflated, removed and replaced with special cement to support the surrounding bone and prevent additional collapse. The cement serves as an internal cast that holds the vertebra into place.

The entire procedure usually takes less than one hour per compression fracture.

For more information on this procedure, please contact the Heywood Department of Radiology at (978) 630-6235.