Has anyone had luck with kyphoplasty for compression fractures.

almost had it but by the time i was to have it the bones had really healed. some say it makes no difference if you have it or not as long as th bones heal. some say it really does nothing to stablize so i never had it

I had it done on an old compression break. It did absolutely nothing. Pima Pain Management and after care, a doctor did not even address it. Just had a NP suggest epidural? There is only 75 percent chance of it working on an old break, which I did not realize until after they performed the procedure. Be careful of these medical facilities just performing the procedure for their own profits.

This summer I had 12 compression fractures in rapid succession (T6-L5). I had kyphoplasty on T10, T12, and L1 in one procedure, and T6-9 in a second. L2-5 were left to heal conservatively. I am extremely pleased with the kyphoplasty. The untreated fractures have supposedly stabilized, but they continue to cause pain. I wish they had been treated as well, but it is too late now. I
had an excellent care team of interventional radiologists/neurosurgeons and that made a huge difference in my trust and decisions. Good luck to you.

Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m finding the decision process to be scary.

I had a Kyphoplasty on L-2 within a few months after the fracture. My doctor indicated that there is a window of time that it is most effective.
Mine went very smoothly, no side effects and very effective. If I had another compression fracture, I would not hesitate to have it done. It was done at a major academic medical center. Great doctor, easy process.

I have old fractures on L4-5 and unfortunately they happened so long ago (years) that area was not eligible.

Why do you say it is too late to treat your two untreated fractures? Is it your doc. decision or yours?

Paala, I was also told the same about a time frame of just a few months for kyphoplasty to be effective. I had it for fractures of T5 & T6 and so happy I had it done.

I had three lumbar fractures. I had kyphoplasty in the middle one.

The pain was so great I could hardly walk. They brought me to the doctors office in a wheelchair. I had immediate relief after the procedure. I was still in pain but not excruciating pain. I was told that it’s much more likely that you will have more fractures because you had the procedure done. So, I think you would be advised to consider that possibility before you have the procedure done too lots of vertebrae.

Would you do it again knowing this?
Thank you for sharing.

hi everyone! how do you know that you had a fracture along the spine? is it pain or discomfort that one won't miss it? what test do doctors do to confirm fractures? for asymptomatic fractures, do doctors periodically do tests like xray to check?

I'm new to osteoporosis and on treatment with forteo currently. I did remember that doctor asked me several times if I had any features in the past. one wouldn't know if the fracture is asymptomatic, right?