Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Before you undergo elective spine surgery you should be aware of the potential risks and benefits of your surgical procedure. While all types of surgery have some level of potential risk, certain types of spine surgery have a higher risk of failed back surgery syndrome than others. Understanding your risks can help you make an informed choice about the type of surgery you should choose to treat your spine condition.

Causes

While FBSS does not always develop after spine surgery, certain factors can increase the risk of developing this condition, such as:

Failure to properly identify the condition(s).Surgeons who see a low volume of patients with degenerative spine conditions tend to be less experienced and specialized in diagnosing and treating these conditions. As a result, when determining the underlying cause of a patient’s neck or back discomfort, a relatively inexperienced surgeon might attempt to correlate a patient’s pain pattern with a specific area of degeneration in the spine. However, the process of making an accurate diagnosis is not always this straightforward.

Additionally, other sources of pain such as hip osteoarthritis, can help produce symptoms that are very similar to, and therefore attributed to degenerative spine conditions. Based on an improper diagnosis, a surgeon might perform surgery at the wrong level of the spine or otherwise improperly treat the condition, leading to FBSS.

Failure to adequately decompress a nerve root or otherwise treat the condition(s). A technical error on the part of the surgeon, such as leaving behind a bone fragment or some herniated disc material that is pressing on a nerve root or the spinal cord, can result in pain that continues or worsens after surgery.
Spinal fusion failure. The goal of a traditional spinal fusion procedure is to relieve nerve compression by removing a damaged disc and stabilizing the adjacent vertebrae with bone grafts or implants that are naturally fortified as the body heals after surgery. However, to successfully address neck and back pain through spinal fusion, a surgeon must first accurately identify the source of the patient’s pain. Furthermore, every patient heals at a different rate. Because vertebral fusion takes place as part of the healing process, it can take up to several months to achieve a solid fusion in some patients, while in others it never occurs.
Implant migration. Sometimes an implant can shift after being placed by a surgeon. This most often occurs during recovery before the body’s healing process has progressed to the point that the implant has attached firmly to the vertebrae. An implant that has moved out of its intended spot will be less effective – or completely ineffective – at stabilizing the spine. Moreover, if a displaced implant compresses sensitive neural tissue, it could create a painful new spine condition.
Scar tissue formation. As part of the natural healing process, the body forms bands of scar tissue following any form of tissue disturbance, such as spine surgery. These fibrous adhesions can potentially blind a nerve root resulting in a condition called epidural fibrosis, which can lead to post-operative pain and FBSS.
Nerve damage. Decompressing a nerve root through spine surgery will typically cause temporary inflammation and can lead to increased pain until the inflammation subsides. However, in rare cases, nerve damage can occur resulting in symptoms like chronic pain and weakness in certain muscle groups.

Traditional v Minimally Invasive Surgery

Open spine procedures have traditionally dominated the field of orthopedic spine surgery. However, due to the advancement and growth in the medical field, today’s patients have an effective alternative for treating FBSS in the form of minimally invasive spine surgery.

The minimally invasive, outpatient spine surgery performed by the skilled surgeons at BEST Health System is often the clinically appropriate first choice over traditional open spine surgery for addressing degenerative spine conditions. Additionally, minimally invasive techniques provide many advantages over traditional open spine surgery, which generally requires large incisions and more muscle disruption to provide surgeons with sufficient access to the spine. In contrast, minimally invasive spine surgery is performed using a small incision and muscle-sparing techniques. As a result, these procedures are much less invasive than traditional back surgery and have a shorter recovery time.

As compared to traditional open spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery at BEST Health System has been shown to offer patients several key advantages:

Is it performed on an outpatient basis
Lower risk of infection and other complications
Minimal damage to the surrounding bone, muscle, and soft tissue
Less pain and scarring with easier and faster recovery

At BEST Health System, we offer a streamlined patient experience, allowing you to avoid hospital-related costs and return to your life and the things you enjoy as quickly as possible.

How to Recognize FBSS

If you have FBSS, you may experience or develop symptoms in varying degrees of severity, such as:

Continued or chronic pain
New spine conditions
Pain above or below the treated level of the spine
Limited mobility
Inability to recuperate
Dull, aching pain in the neck back, or legs
Sharp or stabbing pain in the extremities
Spinal joint immobility
Spasms
Anxiety
Depression
Dependence on prescription drugs

What is FBSS

FBSS is a generalized term that is used to describe the condition of patients who have experienced unsuccessful results following spine surgery to treat neck and back pain. Specifically, the term applies when spine surgery has not alleviated the original problem or has created other, more significant problems, resulting in continuing or worsening pain.

It is estimated that up to 40% of patients who undergo traditional open back surgery experience failed back surgery syndrome. The incidence of failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) depends upon many factors. For instance, FBSS tends to occur more frequently in the lumbar (lower) region than in the cervical (upper) region of the spine. Additionally, your risk of developing FBSS is much higher following an open-back spinal fusion procedure than after undergoing a minimally invasive technique.

Based on studies published to date by the US National Institutes of Health, the only scientifically defensible statement that can be made about the incidence of FBSS is that the likelihood increases with the invasiveness of the spinal surgery that was performed. Currently, the least invasive form of spine surgery is minimally invasive spine surgery, such as the procedures performed at BEST Health System, to treat degenerative spine conditions.