HSS at NYP WCM Orthopedics

HSS at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine

Orthopedics

Metabolic Bone Disease & Osteoporosis

The Metabolic Bone Disease and Osteoporosis providers specialize in bone health including fracture healing, primary management of osteoporosis, osteopenia and fracture risk reduction.

Conditions We Treat

  • Fractures, non-unions, and delayed healing
  • Metabolic bone disease (osteoporosis, Paget’s disease, rickets, osteomalacia, fibrous), dysplasia, (melorheostosis)
  • Geriatric vertebral compression fractures
  • Geriatric hip fractures
  • Stress fractures
  • Collagen, calcium, and vitamin defects
  • Genetic diseases associated with fractures

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of these bone conditions may include a bone density scan — a safe, painless x-ray technique that compares your bone density to that of a healthy person of your same gender and ethnicity.  

Our providers may also order blood and urine tests to look for markers — levels of different enzymes, proteins, and other substances circulating in the body that give information about your disease and the progress of your treatment. These markers can provide information about the rate of bone formation, bone resorption (loss of bone), and vitamin D levels, which are essential for the body’s absorption of calcium.

In addition, our providers may also perform genetic evaluations for patients suspected of having a genetic disease associated with fractures.

Treatment

Drug Treatments

There are many drug treatments for osteoporosis. These include bisphosphonate drugs such as Fosamax (alendronate), Actonel (risedronate), and the monthly drug Boniva (ibandronate). These drugs help slow or stop bone loss. Another treatment option is Forteo (teriparatide), an injectable synthetic version of parathyroid hormone, a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate calcium. This treatment helps build new bone.

Delayed Fracture Healing

For patients with delayed fracture healing, we offer treatment including percutaneous injections of concentrated marrow cells, along with demineralized bone matrix (a bone-graft substitute) or bone morphogenetic protein (which stimulates the body to make more bone cells), and systemic treatment with parathyroid PTH (1-34), which has been shown to increase bone density and prevent fractures in both postmenopausal women and patients on corticosteroids.
We also heal fractures using a person's own bone marrow that has been concentrated, along with demineralized bone.

Avascular Necrosis

We offer a comprehensive program for treating avascular necrosis – the death of bone tissue due to a lack of blood supply. This can lead to tiny breaks in the bone and the bone's eventual collapse. Avascular necrosis most often affects the head of the thighbone (femur), but it may also affect other bones. Treatment includes:

  • Core decompression, a procedure in which a surgeon percutaneously removes part of the inner layer of the bone
  • Injection of a patient's own harvested bone marrow stem cells, along with demineralized bone matrix
  • Injection of parathyroid hormone PTH (1-34), followed by bisphosphonate therapy

 

Our Providers for Metabolic Bone Disease

Contact Us

HSS at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center