Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Open spine surgery and spinal fusion surgery are the only categories of surgery that actually have a clinical term for failure - Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). FBSS is a term used to describe the condition of patients who do not experience relief of pain from these types of surgeries. It is not really a syndrome at all but a post-surgical state many patients experience that occurs frequently enough to have acquired a name with an acronym.

Foraminal stenosis (a decrease in the overall size of the bony window through which the spinal nerves pass) remains the leading cause of FBSS, but painful discs are also common. However, there now exist measures to reduce and alleviate the pain resulting from symptomatic FBSS.

Generally, treatment focuses on conservative measures first, such as rehabilitation and pain management, before further surgery is considered. Other conservative measures may include exercise, manual therapy, spinal cord stimulators and/or an implanted pump to deliver pain medication. Unfortunately, repeated open and fusion surgeries usually are not successful in relieving FBSS pain.

Recent developments have allowed FBSS patients to once again live their lives pain-free. These advances over traditional open and fusion spines surgeries allow for greater precision, faster healing and less damage to healthy tissue. Advanced spine surgeries today can employ the smallest incision possible to correct problems attributed to FBSS with patented instrumentation and methods.