An apparatus according to the invention may comprise one or more
expandable structural support pylons (140), means for deploying said one
or more structural support pylons (138, 141), and one or more therapeutic
substances. Structural support pylons (20) may comprise an elastomeric
core (22), or may comprise one or more suitable metals, and may be
deployed by shortening the length and increasing the height of the pylon.
Alternatively, scaffold (200) may comprise a delivery configuration in
which first unit (202) and second unit (204) he generally end to end, and
a deployed configuration in which superior surfaces (216) and (218) exert
an upward force and inferior surfaces (220) and (222) exert a downward
force on superior and inferior vertebral surfaces respectively. A method
according to the invention may comprise accessing an interior of a
diseased or injured bone in a minimally invasive manner, creating a
semi-circular path within said bone, deploying one or more structural
support pylons within said interior, introducing structural reinforcement
material, and if desired, repeating with one or more subsequent
structural support pylons.