Failed back surgery syndrome is a broad term for ongoing pain after spine surgery. The surgery may have gone technically well, but the pain is still real, and it is treatable.
After spine surgery, pain can linger because of nerve irritation, scar tissue, or muscle patterns that have not reset. Sometimes a new problem develops above or below the surgical level.
Interventional pain care focuses on quieting the nerves and muscles carrying the pain signal. For many patients, this is what finally works after other treatments have not.
Post-surgical back pain has a few common patterns. Identifying the pattern shapes the treatment plan.
We work through a stepped plan, starting with less invasive options and moving up when needed.
A targeted injection into the epidural space that calms inflammation around nerves irritated during or after surgery.
A diagnostic and therapeutic block for the small joints above or below the surgical level. Often tells us where the leftover pain is coming from.
An implantable device that uses gentle electrical pulses to interrupt pain signals. A proven option for chronic post-surgical back and leg pain.
A smaller, temporary implant that quiets a specific nerve carrying post-surgical pain. A less invasive option that can still bring meaningful relief.
Call us urgently for redness, warmth, or drainage at the incision site, fever, new weakness, or sudden severe pain. These can signal infection or a new nerve problem.
Usually not. The surgery may have fixed the structural problem even while leaving a pain pattern behind. We often find irritated nerves or scar tissue that respond well to targeted treatment.
That depends on your pain, your goals, and how you have responded to prior care. We walk through the ladder together and move at a pace that makes sense for you.
Sometimes, but more surgery is not the default. Many patients do better with a combination of targeted injections and neuromodulation than with a second operation.