Around 70-90 percent of spinal surgery patients will experience significant pain relief. Failed back surgery syndrome is a term used to describe when patients have had back surgery but still experience pain. In these cases, the pain is never relieved or it only goes away temporarily.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of failed back surgery syndrome may depend on the back pain and the type of surgery.
The following are symptoms of failed back surgery syndrome:
- Shooting, stabbing, and throbbing pains at the surgery site
- Pain above, or below the initial surgery site
- Chronic back pain after the surgery
- Lack of recovery
- Limited range of motion
- Muscle spasms
- Weakness in the extremities
- Numbness or tingling in the arms and legs
Causes:
Back surgery is performed to change the anatomy of the source of the back pain.
The common causes of failed back surgery include:
- Improper surgical technique
- Misdiagnosis
- Nerve impingement
- Scar tissue around the nerve root
- Nerve damage from the back surgery
