Unfortunately, back surgery can fail to relieve your symptoms, or you may even develop a new set of problems afterward. Our specialty team explains what might have gone wrong and how they address failed back surgery.

While it’s rarely the first, second, or even third choice for painful spinal conditions, there are times when back surgery or neck surgery becomes your best treatment option for relieving discomfort and restoring mobility. But what happens when spine surgery doesn’t help? Even worse, what if you develop new symptoms after the procedure?

The team of top-tier specialists at Spine Center Atlanta, serving their Georgia communities from multiple locations, have significant experience in solving spinal conditions that affect your quality of life. Read what the Spine Center team says about failed back surgery, why it happens, and how they can help.

Understanding failed back surgery

Surgeons generally recommend back surgery with the expectation that, following a period of healing and rehabilitation, the procedure will relieve your symptoms, restore mobility, and improve your overall quality of life.

Failed back surgery (FBS) occurs when your back pain and other symptoms return after surgery, or the procedure never adequately resolved your problems, or your condition evolves to include new symptoms, such as neuropathic pain traveling into your legs or arms.

What causes failed back surgery?

Common causes of failed back surgery include:

Adjacent segment disease (ASD)

ASD can occur after spinal fusion surgery, causing excessive movement in the spinal segments above or below the fused site. The movement accelerates degenerative changes, causing spinal instability and resulting in pain.

Scar tissue

Postsurgical back pain that develops within a few months of the procedure could be related to scar tissue irritating spinal nerve roots. Depending on the nerve’s location, this issue could cause pain, numbness, and muscle weakness in the buttocks, legs, neck, shoulders, or arms.

Pseudoarthrosis

During spinal fusion, your surgeon uses bone cement to fuse two vertebrae together. Ideally, this prevents movement between vertebral bodies, stabilizes the spine, and resolves pain. Your surgeon may also attach metal plates, screws, or rods to help hold the spine in place.

Pseudoarthrosis is a possible complication of spinal fusion, occurring when the vertebrae fail to fuse. This nonunion can also cause the hardware used during spinal fusion to loosen or break.

Other potential causes of FBS include post surgical infection, inaccurate diagnosis before surgery, failure to complete rehab, or preexisting risk factors known to affect surgical outcomes, such as smoking or excess weight.

How do you treat failed back surgery?

Your Spine Center Atlanta specialist starts with a thorough evaluation that typically includes advanced diagnostic imaging studies to determine the cause of your symptoms. They also carefully review images taken before, during, and after your spine surgery and details regarding your postsurgical recovery and rehab process.

Customized treatment strategies to reduce pain and other symptoms related to FBS can include numerous nonsurgical treatments, including:

  • Medication
  • Physical therapy/rehab
  • Neuromodulation (spinal cord stimulation)
  • Epidural steroid injections to relieve inflammation and nerve irritation
  • Regenerative medicine therapy
  • Radiofrequency nerve ablation to block pain signals

Depending on the underlying cause of FBS, should these conservative therapies fail to resolve your symptoms, you may benefit from revision spine surgery.

Schedule an evaluation at Spine Center Atlanta today by calling the office or requesting an appointment online.

What We Do

Services & Conditions

ACL

ACL

ACL injuries or tears commonly occur during sports that involve sudden stops of changes in direction.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury

If you have experienced a car accident, sports injury, or a slip and fall accident and were diagnosed with a concussion, you may have suffered a traumatic brain injury. It is best to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Failed Spine Surgery

Failed Spine Surgery

The team specializes in minimally invasive techniques and offers comprehensive care, including an on-site, fully-accredited outpatient surgical facility and a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center.

Neck Spine Surgery

Neck Spine Surgery

When non-surgical care doesn't help, the board-certified orthopedic surgeons at Spine Center Atlanta perform neck spine surgery to repair the underlying problem.

Non-Surgical Treatments

Non-Surgical Treatments

Non-Surgical Treatments services offered in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA

Rotator Cuff Repair

Rotator Cuff Repair

Rotator Cuff Injury services offered in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA

Auto Accident Injury

Auto Accident Injury

If you have experienced a car accident, sports injury, or a slip and fall accident and were diagnosed with a concussion, you may have suffered a traumatic brain injury. It is best to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Cervical Disc Replacement

Cervical Disc Replacement

Cervical disk replacement surgery involves removing a diseased cervical disk and replacing it with an artificial disk.

What We Do

Facilities

Surgery Center

Surgery Center

Our renowned surgery center caters to surgeries related to extremities, interventional spine, and spine surgeries.

MRI Center

MRI Center

Our on-site MRI services give you the convenience of receiving all of your care in one location and deliver a higher quality of care, including a faster diagnosis and treatment.

Rehabilitation Center

Rehabilitation Center

Our rehabilitation team of highly trained professionals has a combined 70 years of clinical experience in the rehabilitation field, each one ready to put their experience to work for you. Our business office and support staff are fully bilingual.

Wellness Center

Wellness Center

Spine Center Atlanta’s Wellness Center offers a boutique-style experience to offer you the best in massage therapy, personal training, and well-being, everything you need to maintain a healthy and rewarding lifestyle.

Aqua Therapy

Aqua Therapy

The aquatic center offers a heated therapy pool at a depth of four feet with 12 massage jets to soothe sore and hurting muscles at the end of your therapy workout.

Acupuncture Center

Acupuncture Center

Acupuncture increases blood circulation to different parts of your body and relaxes your muscles to help alleviate pain.