Spine surgery available in Rutland
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By SARAH HINCKLEY Herald Staff - Published: October 3, 2007
When people are crippled by a dowager's hump, or curvature of the spine at the top of the back, it is often the result of spinal fractures from osteoporosis.
An innovative spinal surgery is now available at Rutland Regional Medical Center with surgeon Dr. Matthew Zmurko. Balloon Kyphoplasty is designed to reduce back pain by inserting a balloon between vertebral compression fractures, inflating it and filling it with cement.
The objective is to return space between vertebrae, weakened by osteoporosis, which existed before the fracture. The surgery is minimally invasive, can be performed under local and general anesthesia and has a short recovery time.
"It does get older people back to doing their activities and getting them off medicine," said Zmurko, a recent addition to the hospital staff who is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Zmurko, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal surgery, received his medical degree from the University of Maryland 10 years ago. Since that time he has honed his skills in Detroit, Virginia and Albany.
Each year in the United States 700,000 patients suffer from spinal fractures due to osteoporosis, and more than half of those go undiagnosed, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Many also go untreated because of lack of awareness about osteoporosis and available treatment options.
Osteoporotic fractures can be caused by simple things like coughing, Zmurko said. It is not uncommon for the fractures to go untreated for a period of time. Once a person suffers a vertebral compression fracture, the risk of suffering a second, and successive fractures, is five-fold. Fractures can make walking, sleeping, eating, even breathing difficult for people suffering from them.
The surgery is performed with two main goals: Pain relief and deformity correction. Balloon Kyphoplasty follows the trend of a number of other innovative surgical procedures that involve balloons. The orthopedic balloon is the only characteristic that makes the procedure different from vertebroplasty, also called kyphoplasty.
The procedure would not be recommended for younger patients suffering vertebra fractures because their bones are more likely to heal, Zmurko said.
"This is for older patients — youngest 55, oldest probably 90," he added.
Surgery time is generally one hour per vertebra and recovery time includes a stay at the hospital overnight. According to Zmurko patients are mobile the next day. Complications have proven to be low in the surgery. Listed adverse events include cardiac arrest, stroke or paralysis, according to Kyphon, the creator of Balloon Kyphoplasty.
For a consultation concerning treatment options for a spinal fracture, contact the Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic at 775-2937.
Contact Sarah Hinckley at sarah.hinckley@rutlandherald.com.
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