Kyphon Inc. (Encyclopedia)
“kyphoplasty is today a minimally invasive procedure used to treat vertebral compression fractures by inflating a balloon to restore bone height then injecting bone cement into the vertebral body”.
In the past, balloon kyphoplasty was the name of a new procedure created and marketed by a company called Kyphon Inc. founded in 1994. This start-up (at that time) was focused on this new minimally invasive treatment of spinal fractures that they called balloon kyphoplasty, the name drawn from the Greek word kyphos, or “bent.”It was essentially an improved form of vertebroplasty, a procedure in which cement is injected into the fissures of collapsed vertebra to provide reinforcement and pain relief, although the vertebra remain collapsed.
Kyphoplasty Procedure
Who Founded Kyphon Inc?
The man who conceived of balloon kyphoplasty was Dr. Mark A. Reiley. After receiving an undergraduate degree from Claremont College in California, he earned his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., in 1979. He then received five years of orthopedic training at the University of California, S...
