Even with the best surgeon and the best outlook, there is always a chance that spinal surgery will not fully resolve back pain. Failed Back Surgery Syndrome, or FBSS, is an umbrella term for the many types of complications that may occur after spinal surgery.
What is Failed Back Surgery Syndrome?
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome is a diagnosis for patients who continue to experience pain following spinal surgery. Some patients may feel that their symptoms improve temporarily, before deteriorating again. Others may feel like their symptoms became worse following surgery. In some cases, patients report that their pain changes locations, for example, from the back to the legs.
There are a number of reasons why a spinal surgery might fail. For instance, if a patient’s spinal fusion fails to heal properly, their spine may never fuse, resulting in more pain.
What are the symptoms?
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome might present several different symptoms, including:
Treatment Options for Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
Treatments will vary depending on the circumstances surrounding the patient’s failed spinal surgery. If the failed surgery temporarily resolved the patient’s back pain, they may find that there are more options for treatment available. Your physician will determine whether the pain has resulted from the ineffectiveness of the surgery itself or if the surgery did not treat the proper part of the spine. Those who have an existing spinal condition that spreads to another part of the spine after surgery may want to try a more conservative treatment option before undergoing another surgery. Some non-surgical back pain treatment options include:
Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy
Facet radiofrequency neurotomy eliminates pain by preventing signals from injured nerves from reaching the brain. Can be used as treatment in the cervical and lumbar spine. Click here to learn more about facet radiofrequency neurotomy.
Facet Joint Injections
Facet joint injections reat chronic pain by administering pain-killing medication directly to the source of the pain. Click here to learn more about facet joint injections.
Steroid Injections
Steroid injections reduce pain and swelling throughout the spine by delivering anti-inflammatory medication to the affected area. Click here to learn more about steroid injections.
If a non-surgical procedure does not resolve a patient’s pain from failed back surgery syndrome, they may be a candidate for a more advanced, minimally-invasive surgical treatment:
Pain Pump
A pain pump involves placing a small pump inside the body to steadily deliver pain-killing medication to the affected part of the spine. Click here to learn more about a pain pump.
Spinal Cord Stimulator
A spinal cord stimulator is a small device placed inside the body that delivers tiny electrical pulses to the spine to relieve pain. Click here to learn more about the spinal cord stimulator.
Dr. Segura performed the first implant of the Prometra® II 40 mL Programmable Pump in Louisiana. Dr. Segura has been implanting the Prometra System for over 5 years using his low concentration, high volume approach to alleviating symptoms for chronic pain patients.
Reach out for relief
Though nobody wants to be faced with the possibility of a failed spinal surgery, those who experience lingering chronic pain of the back should rest easy knowing other treatment options are available.
If you’re still experiencing pain from a failed spinal operation, give the team at the Segura Neuroscience & Pain Center a contact us today. We have a team of trained physicians ready to diagnose and treat your lingering chronic back pain.
This website is not intended to provide specific medical advice, medical diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this website and links to other websites, Segura Neuroscience & Pain Center provides general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this site is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use this information in place of the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. Segura Neuroscience & Pain Center is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through this website.
Questions? Ask our doctors
Schedule a Consultation