laura
had a very dear friend that was going through excruciating pain from compression fractures... hers were quite old, and once they get to a certain age the procedure cannot be done as well. finally she had another compression and was able to have the procedure done at two different levels (two different times)... what a difference it made... from constant pain to managable... was an outpatient procedure in the interventional radiology department. check around in your area to find the best doc for it... but I would not fear it.