I forgot to post an update after the kyphoplasty. It wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be! Since I’ve been getting Zometa for years, my bones are very hard. The neurosurgeon wasn’t used to seeing this with myeloma patients, whose bones are usually a lot softer than mine are. I remembered that, when I was first diagnosed in 2003, the doctor who performed my first bone marrow biopsy remarked about how soft the bone was.
Out came the mallet and a tool that I was told resembles a nail. I could feel and hear the sounds of the mallet hitting the “nail.” I felt as though I was in one of those “Saw” movies. I was awake during the procedure. That’s just how it’s done. I had fentanyl pushed through my IV whenever the pain and torture of it was more than I could handle. They also used versed for sedation.
After gaining access to the interior of the L5, the doctor took some marrow to be biopsied. Next, they performed a radio frequency ablation of the marrow to kill it (and any myeloma in there). Finally, the injection of the cement was done.
For a long while after the kyphoplasty, I had nerve pain (think sciatica), which is finally subsiding. It took some weeks for me to fully recover for that reason. I’m really glad it’s over, and I hope I never have to do it again.