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Suggested ReadingRelated - Failed Back Surgery Syndrome - FBSSQ. What is Failed Back Surgery Syndrome?About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
In back surgery, doctors work with the aim of reducing a patients pain by changing the spine's anatomy, especially at the lesion site. Because of this, there is no definitive guarantee that back surgery will remove back pain. A. When back surgery fails to remove the pain, the result is a condition known as failed back surgery syndrome, or FBSS.
The incidence of FBSS ranges between 5 and 50%, according to a study done in 2005 in Prague, Czech Republic. The author of the study attributes the high percentage of FBSS cases in part to the rise in number of surgeries performed. 1 Failed back surgery syndrome can be due to a number of factors that doctors and researchers are still discussing. These include:
Most patients with FBSS have accompanying psychological, social and/or vocational problems indirectly related to the pain. Its important that these issues be carefully sorted out before any decision to go back for more surgery is made, as they can cloud the evaluation of next steps to be taken. Treatment options for FBSS are dependent upon:
Generally, treatment focuses on conservative measures first, such as rehabilitation and pain management, before another surgery is considered. The conservative measures may include exercise, manual therapy, spinal cord stimulators and/or an implanted pump to deliver pain medication. Sometimes further surgery is not a consideration in the patients pain management future. Bibliography Updated: September 18, 2006 Suggested ReadingRelated - Failed Back Surgery Syndrome - FBSS |
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