[ElizellenParticipant]

My doctor has talked about the possibility of doing a kyphoplasty operation on my vertebra, several of which have collapsed making me about 4" shorter and stooped over.

Has anyone here had it done? Did it restore some of your lost height?

I have permanent pain from my back (in fact that was the reason I went for all the tests leading to being diagnosed with myeloma). Is kyphoplasty likely to help with the pain do you know?

Elizabeth

[MinParticipant]

Hi Elizabeth,
Peter had Baloon kyphplasty done on 3 of his lower vertebra in December last year, He had immediate relief from the pain, and gained about an inch in height. He went from taking mega doses of morphine to taking 2 paracetamol. There are several reasons for them not being able to give you back height
1 The length of time from collapse of vertebra to the op is important as the bone sets and you cannot get it to go any higher.
2 If you have had a blast of radio therapy for the pain, it has the same effect of setting the bone.
The ideal time to get it done is as soon as possible, but being on medication often prevents that.
We saw the surgeon again yesterday and he is to do two more in about 3 weeks time when Peter is on his 10 days off meds. From the point of view of getting him off his walking sticks and off morphine it was brilliant.
This time he has not had any radio therapy and its only a matter of weeks since these ones have been discovered but the trouble is, they collapse because the myeloma eats away at the bone and they cant actualy fill much, but the surgeon was saying from experience it does not matter how much cement that he uses in all cases it prevents pain.
Peter has lost 5 inches in total now and has just had most of his suits altered to accommodate his new height, he is not happy with the pinching feeling in his waist that he gets due to being smaller/shorter and he is always in pain in his sides now from his ribs sitting on his pelvis and we are going to see another surgeon to see if he can have that bit of flesh removed to take away the pain.
He had his op done at Newcastle General and was in overnight but only because he had low blood pressure. Most people go home the same day. He had a general anaesthetic, in order that they could stretch him whilst under the 'gas' but some people have it done with a local anaesthetic. Its non invasive key hole and leaves 2 tiny scars of about half an inch.
Need to know more ask away.
MIn

[TinaParticipant]

Hi Elizabeth,

Patrick had the sister procedure Vertebroplasty which was 100% successful in reducing pain he had in his upper thighs and knees.He could hardly walk before the procedure but after just two weeks the pain dissapeared like magic!
Similar to Min's hubbie Patrick has lost a total of 5ins which really upset's him. Kyphoplasty was not an option.

Good luck and best wishes
Tina

[shirleyParticipant]

Hi Elizabeth,i had a procedure very similer to the kapoplasty(sorry if i spelt it wrong),i had a vertrebroplasty done,i had my spine cemented on my t11/t12,like you i had horrendous backache,it has left me stooping a little,i have lost height because my bottom vertebre has crumbled,i never got my height back,but i am a lot straighter in my spine, and find i'm not stooping as much,i do get back ache but thats mainly muscle pain now and it aches even more in this cold weather,and i find my ribs ache too. I wish you good luck if you are getting this procedure done(kapoplasty that is),you'll feel great afterwards,take care Shirls x x

[GayeParticipant]

Dear Elizabeth – I have had two balloon kyphoplasty operations both of which got rid of the awful pain but did not restore the 4" in height that I lost. I'd rather be without the pain than the height so do go for it if offered.

Best wishes, Gaye x

[ElizellenParticipant]

Thanks everyone for your input, it looks as if definitely will be worth having done, as the pain is what stops me from being active. My hubby has a bad back from disc problems and is limited in how far he can walk, so pushing me around in wheelchairs has not helped him at all.

We have bought a small mobility scooter for me to be able to wizz around the long hospital corridors to appointments like zelodrenate drips and pentamadine nebuliser sessions on my own at times, so hopefully once my back has been sorted and I don't need it he can use it himself and try to keep up with me when I walk!!

As yet I haven't heard whether my MRI scan showed that kyphoplasty is a serious option as I haven't seen my doctor lately. Hopefully on my '100 day results' meeting all will become clear.

Eliz
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