Failed Back Surgery? Do This Now

After back surgery, you expect pain to improve. If you’ve had a failed back surgery, here’s what you can do next to reduce your back pain.

Getting back surgery is a big step, and one that typically comes after many other, less invasive attempts at treating back pain.

While you might expect back surgery to resolve your pain or at least improve it, about 10-40% of people who undergo surgery for back pain experience what’s called failed back surgery or failed back surgery syndrome.

If your back pain returned or worsened after surgery, hope isn’t lost. Board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management specialist Haddis Hagos, MD, can support you with advanced treatments for pain and immobility at Pain Management Associates LLC in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Here’s what you should know about failed back surgery and what you can do next:

Why back surgery sometimes fails

Almost everyone can expect some postoperative pain after back surgery, but not everyone experiences failed back surgery syndrome. Postoperative pain happens during the healing period and usually only lasts a week or two.

Your pain might continue or get worse for one or several reasons:

Fibrosis (the buildup of scar tissue in your back)
Herniated discs (can happen before or after back surgery)
New or increased pressure on a spinal nerve after surgery
Inflammatory conditions, autoimmune diseases, or vascular diseases

Identifying the precise cause of your lasting or worsening pain may or may not be possible. Imaging tests like X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can show some of these issues, so Dr. Hagos can properly treat them.

Advanced treatments pick up where back surgery left off

If Dr. Hagos determines you have failed back surgery syndrome, he can continue your treatment to reduce pain and restore function.

After careful evaluation, Dr. Hagos might recommend:

Physical therapy and gentle exercise
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs)
Nerve blocks
Epidural steroid injections
Electrical stimulation
Radiofrequency ablation
An implantable pump
Behavioral modification (changing your lifestyle)

Dr. Hagos may recommend multiple strategies to treat your failed back surgery. Many focus on removing pressure from a compressed nerve in your spine or reducing pain signals from an aggravated nerve.

Finding an effective care regimen for failed back surgery syndrome might improve your sleep and help with depression and other secondary problems caused by your continued pain.

When to consider surgery again

While noninvasive treatments help many people with back pain after failed back surgery, you might need another surgery if your pain still doesn’t improve after months. Dr. Hagos provides his expertise and guidance to determine your next steps.

Learn about your options

If you have failed back surgery syndrome, don’t wait to take action. Call Pain Management Associates LLC or request an appointment online today.