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Spine Tuning: Back Surgery Stops Pain, But There's Risk

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2007

A minimally invasive surgery called vertebroplasty, in which doctors inject cement into fractured or broken vertebrae, can put back pain behind you.

Glowing reports from patients and doctors have fueled rapid growth of vertebroplasty and a related procedure called kyphoplasty. A majority of the patients are women, because they are more prone to osteoporotic fractures, but older men and people of all ages with compression fractures triggered by cancer also are getting these procedures.

The growth is sparking concern among some doctors that the procedures are becoming the first line of treatment, even though their effectiveness remains unproven and they carry significant, if uncommon, risks, including paralysis or even death.

Nation/World, Page 18

•The number of these surgeries rose from about 14,000 in 2001 to more than 73,000 last year in the United States.

•The aging of the population is expected to boost spinal compression fractures well above the current 700,000 annually, so demand for surgeries will grow.

•Medicare pays for the procedures in most of the country; Blue Cross Blue Shield does not.

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