You were hobbled by back pain that placed significant limitations on your life, prompting you to seek out a surgical solution. Fast forward, and that solution hasn’t paid off, leaving you frustrated and still dealing with no small amount of back pain.
Called failed back surgery syndrome, this issue affects from 10% to 40% of people who undergo spine surgery, so you’re certainly not alone if this has been your experience.
At Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas, our team of spine health experts understands the frustration that comes with ongoing back pain after a failed spine surgery. We’re here to provide solutions that can help you move forward without resorting to more surgery.
A great place to start when discussing failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is to provide a little more detail about what we mean by failed.
While FBSS has no strict criteria, it usually entails:
FBSS can occur after any back surgery, but the type of surgery does make a difference. For example, FBSS occurs in 30% to 46% of people after a more complex lumbar fusion procedure compared with 19% to 25% after a microdiscectomy.
As you contemplate the road ahead, it’s important to keep the following in mind: Subsequent spine surgeries offer diminishing returns.
By the numbers, only 30% of spine surgeries are successful the second time around. This number drops to 15% and 5% for third and fourth surgeries, respectively.
So, going back to the surgery well may not be a great idea, and that’s where our team comes in.
Our goal is to always find the least invasive pain management remedy possible and for patients with FBSS, we have an entire tool kit we can draw on that includes:
As you can see, we have plenty of options for failed back surgery, and we typically use them in different combinations for best results.
While there may be a period of trial and error as we figure out what works best to resolve your back pain, rest assured that we won’t stop until you find relief.
So, if you’re still struggling with back pain after your spine surgery and you’re done traveling the surgical road, we’re here to help. To get on the road to relief from ongoing back pain, we invite you to call or message one of our offices in Waco, Arlington, Wichita Falls, or Fort Worth, Texas, today to schedule a consultation.
