Undergoing a surgical procedure is in itself a significant decision. It involves time, commitment, dealing with the potential complications, and of course, the expensive medical costs. It can be heartbreaking when the surgery you put so much time, money, and effort into has an unsuccessful outcome. The postoperative pain can be disheartening and raise confusion.
If you have undergone back surgery without the desired results, you must seek immediate medical consultation from a qualified professional. Failed Back Surgery Syndrome can happen for a number of reasons. Talk to a Hamilton failed back surgery expert to find out the underlying cause and treatment options available.
Top reasons for a failed back surgery
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Misdiagnosis of pain.
One of the most common reasons for a failed back surgery (FBSS) is a misdiagnosis of pain. This means when the doctor fails to identify the nerve that was the primary cause of your pain. It is not always easy to understand which specific problem or lesion is the cause of the pain. If the lesion operated on is not the root cause, the surgery will be useless, and you may start experiencing pain immediately after the procedure.
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Surgeon failure.
Surgeon failure occurs when you do not choose the right and experienced surgeon for the job. Your surgeon may have made a mistake or omitted an essential step, due to which the surgery remained unsuccessful. For example, they may not have removed the entire disc that was pressing on the nerve, causing the pain.
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Scar tissue formation.
Some scar tissue can form in the operated area even after a successful procedure. When scar tissue forms, it can cause pain after the surgery. You may start experiencing pain from scar tissue within one to three months of the surgery.
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Non-union of a spinal fusion.
Spinal fusion and SI joint fusion surgeries require bone grafts and hardware to stabilize the vertebrae and for it to fuse. However, the fusion does not occur immediately and takes some time. If there is a complication and the fusion does not happen at all, the condition is called pseudoarthrosis, which can result in pain after the back surgery causing it to fail.
Is it possible to treat a failed back surgery?
The treatment of a failed back surgery can be difficult for a patient as well as the doctor. A multidisciplinary approach, including physical therapists, pain specialists, spine surgeons, and psychiatrists, may be required. Before the surgery, you may have to undergo a series of imaging tests to recognize how to address the pain properly.
