Balloon kyphoplasty now available at St Catherine Specialty Hospital in Croatia

26-Jul-2017

St Catherine Specialty Hospital in Croatia has recently performed its first procedures using balloon kyphoplasty, an advanced surgical technique that is applied in cases of painful vertebral fractures caused primarily by osteoporosis, as well as by metastases of various tumours spreading into the spine.

Considering that problems associated with osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weakened, fragile and easily breakable, usually begin to appear in women after menopause, and even more commonly after the age of 70 when senile osteoporosis occurs, the patients most frequently seen with these fractures are indeed women.

As a minimally invasive procedure, kyphoplasty is a method which delivers treatment of very high-quality and efficiency. By using a dilatation balloon with a contrast agent the procedure aims to restore a flattened vertebra to its original height, which was lost due to impaired bone mineralization, and to stabilize the vertebra in this state by injecting bone cement.

Kyphoplasty therefore represents a state-of-the-art method which produces efficient results by performing balloon inflation prior to the injection of cement, which then ensures better spatial conditions for injecting sufficient quantities of cement. The actual course of the procedure is relatively short and lasts only an hour.

About St Catherine Specialty Hospital

Based in Zabok, Croatia and with a specialist polyclinic in Zagreb, St Catherine Specialty Hospital is a European centre of excellence for the treatment of orthopaedic conditions and sports injuries. Offering state-of-the-art diagnostics and the most up-to-date treatments, including mesenchymal stem cell therapy for cartilage repair, the hospital is experienced in the treatment of elite athletes, as well as providing a full range of orthopaedic surgeries such as hip and knee replacement. A member of 'The Leading Hospitals of the World', St Catherine also provides specialist services for pain management, spinal health, neurology, gastroenterology, physical medicine and rehabilitation.