The Osseoflex® SB is designed for use in balloon kyphoplasty. The balloon serves to create a cavity in the vertebral body, thereby reducing the fracture while still allowing for cement interdigitation. The balloon catheter is the functional part of the device that creates a cavity and reduces the fracture. The balloon catheter provides a conduit through which the physician can inflate the balloon at the distal end of the catheter. After the bone is disrupted, PMMA is injected through an Osseoflex® SN+ steerable needle to fill the previously created void(s).An access channel is required for Osseoflex® SB placement. The Osseoflex® SB device does not create an access channel; the Osseoflex® SB is designed to follow a pre-existing channel created by an access channel device. The articulating or steering feature of the device assists the clinician in directing the device through the pre-existingchannel. The Osseoflex® SB knob can be turned clockwise to aid in directing the distal portion of the device. Turning the knob counter-clockwise will relax the device and allow the device to be returned to its start position. The device should be manipulated only while under fluoroscopic observation with radiographic equipment that provides high quality images.
A catheter-like device with an inflatable balloon at the distal end used for the reduction of fractures and/or creation of a void in cancellous bone [e.g., in the spine for a vertebral compression fracture (VCF), hand, tibia, radius, and calcaneus]. It is commonly used for kyphoplasty, which involves its insertion into a patient's back to reduce a vertebral body fracture by compression of cancellous bone and/or movement of the endplates as the balloon is inflated. After the device is removed, orthopaedic bone cement is introduced into the created void to stabilize the vertebra. This is a single-use device.