Point of view: kyphoplasty: more answers or more questions?

摘要

A recent informational brochure distributed by Kyphon claims that "balloon kyphoplasty helps to repair the fracture and correct the deformity, resulting in a significant reduction in pain, increased mobility and improved quality of life." These are powerful claims and are echoed on Kyphon's Web site: "... significant improvements at short- and long-term follow-up in patients treated with Balloon Kyphoplasty, including: correction of vertebral body deformity, significant reduction in pain, improvement in quality of life, improvement in ability to perform activities of daily living, low complication rate".1