Thousands of women with spinal fractures - causing the telltale shape of dowager’s hump - could benefit from a new balloon treatment, claim doctors.
The procedure uses a balloon-like device to create space between fractured bones in the spine which is then injected with cement.
It strengthens the bone and reduces the curvature of the spine, leaving patients pain-free within a few hours.
Thousands of women with spinal fractures - causing the telltale shape of dowager's hump - could benefit from a new balloon treatment, claim doctors
The £3,000 procedure called balloon kyphoplasty has been given the go-ahead for widespread use on the NHS by the rationing body Nice.
It has been approved along with a similar treatment called vertebroplasty, in which cement is injected into the solid part of the spine, for patients with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.
At least 120,000 spinal fractures are triggered by the disease each year, often leading to a loss of height and hunched upper back, shuffling walk, breathing problems, chronic back pain and even premature death.
People afflicted by spinal fractures visit their GPs 14 times more than patients of a similar age.
Most cases are treated with strong painkillers, bed rest, physiotherapy, back bracing or major surgery.
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But experts believe approval for the new procedures will revolutionise the treatment of spinal fractures, mostly in women.
Professor Opinder Sahota, professor in orthogeriatric medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said ‘Treating these fractures with balloon kyphoplasty could potentially save lives and is a cost effective way of preventing people from lingering in pain.
‘If managed properly, patients can be relieved from acute back pain, reduce the number of times they visit their doctor and regain their independence.
‘We need to make sure that this procedure becomes the standard of care for osteoporotic spinal fractures and ensure more patients have access to it as only 800 spinal fractures during 2010/2011 were treated with it in the whole of England and Wales.’
It strengthens the bone and reduces the curvature of the spine, leaving patients pain-free within a few hours
Balloon kyphoplasty is performed by inserting two small balloon-like devices into the fractured vertebra where they are inflated slowly until normal bone height is restored.
When withdrawn, cement can be injected into the cavity that has been left, strengthening the bone with permanent results.
It can be carried out under local anaesthetic and sedation, with the patient usually back on their feet and pain-free within hours.
A trial published in The Lancet in 2009 suggested the procedure was so successful it should be used as an early treatment for vertebral compression fractures.
The data, combined with other research showing a cut in premature death rates, was used during a two-year assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence which led to its approval.
Previously Nice had decided the procedures were safe but now it says that as they provide ‘benefits to patients and value for money, they ought to be offered to patients when appropriate.’
Professor Terence O’Neill, Chair of the National Osteoporosis Society’s Clinical and Scientific Committee said ‘Vertebral fractures can have a devastating impact on people’s lives.
‘While most fractures heal on their own a small number do not and cause persistent and severe pain. For those affected vertebroplasty and percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty offers real hope of improvement in their pain and quality of life.’
Professor Carole Longson, Director of the Health Technology Evaluation Centre at NICE, said ‘We’re pleased to recommend vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, two treatments that can help to strengthen fractured bone and reduce pain.
‘Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures can have a major impact on quality of life, and can be painful and disabling.
‘High doses of painkillers can also cause significant adverse effects, which can add to the distress and loss of self-esteem caused by the symptoms.'