Friday, January 6, 2012

Consider Failed Back Surgery Prior to Undergoing the First Spine Surgery

By David Greene


Failed low back surgery occurs way too often in this day and age. The percentage of individuals who either have no improvement or a worse outcome is between 10 and 40%. Due to those significant percentages, it makes sense to try every conceivable nonsurgical option prior to undergoing low back surgery.

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

With back surgery having such a high incidence of failure, there has actually been a term given to the condition that patients end up with. This is termed failed back surgery syndrome and the abbreviation is FBSS. The primary reason why low back surgery fails is that the diagnosis was wrong and the pain is actually being caused by something different than what the doctor thought.

When the decision is made to have a spinal fusion, this involves welding vertebrae together and is not a reversible procedure. The patient's range of motion is potentially inhibited, so the decision to have it performed should not be taken lightly and other non-operative options should be tried 1st.

Some lumbar surgery is completely necessary because it is the only recourse, but that is best determined by seeking more than one opinion. Many people have improved their backs and their lives because of surgery on the spine. Generally accidents involving falls, automobile accidents, and sports related activities lead to serious injuries where broken bones mandate operations.

The Best Route to Take for Back Pain

Determining what path to follow for back pain has much to do with how the injury occurred. When a person doesn't remember any particular event that caused the pain, it usually means that the situation can be treated by way of chiropractic procedures and some amount of pain medication.

Obtaining radiographs can be an excellent way to see if there's serious physical damage and if surgery is truly necessary. Even then it may be prudent to get a 2nd doctors opinion if surgery is not an emergency.

Some people make the mistake of not seeking enough nonoperative treatments because they don't have insurance coverage to pay for it. It may be that they simply don't want to pay out-of-pocket for the nonoperative treatments for instance if their physical therapy coverage runs out. This is a terrible reason to go ahead with low back surgery especially if the nonoperative treatment is not horribly expensive. Failed lumbar surgery is something that can affect the patient for life and can affect one's ability to be employed to enjoy their family life.

When considering back surgery is important that individuals gather all the information necessary on the particular surgery being recommended. Getting answers to all of your questions from the doctor is extremely important as well as educating yourself.

Knowing the percentage of failed lumbar spine surgery and all the outcomes expected may make a difference in the decision chosen.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment