Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/1275686
A D V E R T O R I A L T he numbers tell a grim story. Osteoporoc fractures can lead to more serious complicaons, and these can leave people with reduced mobility, depression, pain, and insomnia. 1 Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) are among the most common fragility fractures in the United States – with an esmated 1.4 million people across the globe affected by VCFs each year. 2 And 700,000 of those cases occur in the United States alone. 3 The story gets even more forbidding as research reveals a fivefold increase in the risk for subsequent spine fracture leading from VCFs. 4 Worse, twothirds of paents with VCF are undiagnosed. 5 "There is a growing volume of evidence that clearly shows a potenal downward spiral that can occur if a compression fracture is le" untreated," says Brian Thomas, MBA, Vice President, Ortho, Neuro & Spine, Swedish Medical Center, Denver, Colo. "A"er the first, the likelihood of geng a second compression fracture is 5x – if they get a second, they are 12x more likely to get a third, and so on. As the spine starts to curl forward, breathing can become more difficult and lead to much more serious condions like pneumonia and even result in death." 6 Clearly, the importance of an early diagnosis for osteo porosis, and VCF in parcular, cannot be overstated. So, what are the clinical and economic implicaons of not diagnosing VCF early or, in fact, leaving the condion untreated? "We have many examples of paents that have returned to the emergency department two, three, even four mes with intractable pain, and ending up in a hospital bed or transferred to a skilled nursing facility for mulple nights. That's bad for the paents, bad for the hospitals, and especially bad for the payors," explains Thomas. There is a soluon that has taken hold in some instuons and is being pracced by physicians who have adopted it as an early intervenon that can curtail the cycle of pain, limit further spinal complicaons, and lower mortality risks. By treang the paent with Kyphon™ Balloon Kyphoplasty, the paent has an immediate soluon to address pain and discomfort for that compression fracture. 7 Kyphon™ Balloon Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of pathological fractures of the vertebral body due to osteoporosis, cancer, or benign lesion. "In our hospital, we have reduced the probability of an overnight stay at the hospital, or transfer to a skilled nursing facility. For those le" untreated, you can almost guarantee they will be back in the emergency department looking for relief. Not to menon the loss of mobility and cessaon of many acvies. This is where the downward spiral starts," says Thomas. Coordina%ng Pa%ent Care How do you get buyin for treang VCF paents with balloon kyphoplasty? In a large hospital with an acve emergency department, the VCF paents are already coming in for care and are being diagnosed for compression fractures by the radiology team. What happens next a"er diagnosis is crical. The first big challenge is gaining buyin from the emergency department, spine surgeons and intervenonal radiologists on the best way to manage paent care. Once the team agrees, the next step is to build an Kyphon TM Balloon Kyphoplasty Offers Hope for VCF Pa%ents Reducing the burden for pa%ents and healthcare systems