Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

1
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

• According to a study, approximately 40 percent of
  patients who undergo traditional open back
  surgery experience failed back surgery syndrome.
  Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS) refers to a
  condition where a patient experiences persistent
  pain after a failed spinal surgery. The spine
  surgery may have involved removing bone or disc
  material or a fusion of the spinal segment or
  segments. Specifically, FBSS is applied when
  spine surgery has not alleviated the original
  problem or has created other, more significant
  problems, resulting in continuing or worsening
  pain.
• An article by Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD,
  Orthopedic Surgeon (retired) in spine-health.com
  states that spine surgery can accomplish two
  things only
• Decompress a nerve root that is pinched, or
• Stabilize a painful joint
• Unfortunately, back surgery or spine surgery
  cannot literally cut out a patients pain. It is
  only able to change anatomy, and an anatomical
  lesion (injury) that is a probable cause of back
  pain must be identified prior to rather than
  after back surgery or spine surgery. By far the
  number one reason back surgeries are not
  effective and some patients experience continued
  pain after surgery is because the lesion that was
  operated on is not in fact the cause of the
  patients pain.

2
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

• Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD, Orthopedic Surgeon
  goes on to say that some types of back surgery
  are far more predictable in terms of alleviating
  a patients symptoms than others. For instance,
• A discectomy (or microdiscectomy) for a lumbar
  disc herniation that is causing leg pain is a
  very predictable operation. However, a discectomy
  for a lumbar disc herniation that is causing
  lower back pain is far less likely to be
  successful.
• A spine fusion for spinal instability (e.g.
  spondylolisthesis) is a relatively predictable
  operation. However, a fusion surgery for
  multi-level lumbar degenerative disc disease is
  far less likely to be successful in reducing a
  patients pain after surgery.
• Therefore, the best way to avoid a spine surgery
  that leads to an unsuccessful result is to stick
  to operations that have a high degree of success
  and to make sure that an anatomic lesion that is
  amenable to surgical correction is identified
  preoperatively.
• If you are looking for expert advice then visit
  The Spine Center of Miami. After visiting the
  Spine Center of Miami and consulting with Dr.
  Nordt, patients have a good understanding of
  their condition. Thereafter a treatment plan for
  relieving their pain and discomfort can be
  developed, which may include surgery or other
  non-invasive approaches.