Keyhole surgery helps spinal pain

Radiologists at a Leicester hospital are using a new keyhole surgery technique to treat osteoporosis patients with severe back problems.

The procedure involves injecting a cement-like material into fractured bone to stabilise it and reduce pain.

In the past, patients with spinal fractures had conventional treatments such as painkillers or spinal surgery.

Leicester Royal Infirmary has reported it reduces hospital stays to less than three days from more than a week.

'Considerable pain'

Dr Winston Rennie, consultant radiologist at LRI, said the surgery was now being offered at the hospital and so far he has performed the keyhole surgery on 15 patients.

Frances Owen, 79, from Leicester, who had the treatment after she suffered a back injury in a fall, said: "It was brilliant. I had two injections and an epidural and Dr Rennie told me what he was doing all the way through.

"I had been in considerable pain and I like to get out and about every day. I went in to hospital in the morning and the operation started at 10am and was walking around afterwards and at home by 5pm."

Osteoporosis causes bones to become thin, porous and brittle due to low levels of oestrogen, lack of calcium and lack of physical exercise.