90-Year-Old Kiva Patient Pays Benvenue Medical a Thank-You Visit for Freeing Her From Immobilizing Back Pain

It’s not every day that we get to spend time with the people who benefit from our products, but not too long ago we had the pleasure of a visit from 90-year-old Josefina Salindong. We’ve said that we’d recommend our products to our own mothers. In this case, we really did because Mrs. Salindong is the mother of one of our employees, Ophie Myint.

Just a few months ago, Mrs. Salindong’s spinal fracture - called a vertebral compression fracture, or VCF - resulted in her being confined to a bed with debilitating back pain, unable to move or withstand any touch despite 24/7 pain medication. When doctors recommended that her mother undergo surgery for her VCF, Ophie insisted that her mother receive our Kiva VCF System in a minimally invasive procedure that often provides immediate relief in patients with vertebral compression fractures and intractable pain.

Mrs. Salindong’s procedure was performed at El Camino Hospital Los Gatos by Jeffrey D. Coe, M.D., of the Silicon Valley Spine Institute. Dr. Coe is the first doctor in the South Bay to use the Kiva implant.

“Similar to hip fractures, we are beginning to recognize that it is important to treat these incapacitated patients with painful VCFs without delay to prevent a downward spiral in their health and well-being,” Dr. Coe said. “Additionally, the Kiva procedure reduces the change of subsequent fractures as compared to other vertebral augmentation techniques.”

Three hours after the Kiva procedure, Mrs. Salindong went from being immobile and unresponsive to standing and sitting on her own with no pain. For the first time in six weeks, she had a smile on her face. Mrs. Salindong has since regained her independence and is back to taking daily walks and day trips to the local casino with her girlfriends.

As Mrs. Salindong celebrates her 90th birthday, she can’t believe that just a few months ago she had little to look forward to. To celebrate the end of her longstanding and painful debilitation from her spinal fracture, Mrs. Salindong visited our offices to extend her thanks to the people responsible for the new treatment that gave her back her normal life.

“I’m so thankful to Benvenue and I had to tell them in person what a difference that Kiva made. I’ve always been a very active woman and as I turn 90, it’s the little things in life that really matter to me, like going on morning walks, playing with my twin grandkids and even cleaning the kitchen or combing my own hair,” Mrs. Salindong said. “These may seem like simple tasks, but at my age, being able to do these things for myself is important to me.”

We could not have been happier to see Mrs. Salindong and wish her a very healthy and happy life!