Dan Kendall, DO, of Washington, D.C.-based National Spine & Pain Centers, was the first in the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia area to use Stryker's AVAflex Balloon System.
Here are four takeaways:
1. He treated a vertebral compression fracture at his office in McLean, Va., with the system.
2. A minimally invasive VCF treatment, balloon kyphoplasty traditionally involves a surgeon inserting two trocars into the fracture vertebrae. Surgeons insert balloon catheters through the trocars and inflate; this bone cement produces a cast in the fractured vertebrae.
3. Stryker's AVAflex Balloon System offers a less-invasive approach, though, requiring only one trocar.
4. Dr. Kendall completed his interventional pain management fellowship at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital.
"In using Stryker's AVAflex technology during a balloon kyphoplasty procedure, I was able to treat the patient using only one trocar while still achieving the results I look for with using two trocars. Using one trocar provides less patient trauma and further minimizes risk for infection," said Dr. Kendall.