Failed Back Surgery:

Open spinal surgery has been used to treat spinal pain and related conditions for over 70 years. 5-10 percent of patients with sciatica and unrelenting pain eventually require surgery for control of pain. Long term studies of patients undergoing surgery show that the principle benefit of surgery is short term improvement in function and relief of pain symptoms in the majority of patients. Reoperation for recurrent symptoms is common, and by four years following an initial operation, patients treated surgically have no greater relief of symptoms or improved function than patients receiving non-surgical treatment. Causes for failed back surgery include recurrent disc herniation, spinal instability requiring spinal fusion, scar tissue formation with nerve entrapment, and progression of degenerative disease. Pain specialists have made great advances in the treatment of this challenging group of patients through the use of advanced nerve block techniques, spinal cord stimulation, intraspinal pain pumps, and most recently, laser disc decompression and endoscopic microdiscectomy and foraminotomy as alternatives to reoperation. . Endoscopic techniques are effective even in advanced cases where herniated discs have appeared in association with advanced degenerative disc disease as a powerful alternative to spinal fusion.Specialists at Foothills Regional Pain Center are experienced in all of these advanced techniques and will be happy to help determine if one or more of these powerful new methods of advanced pain management are right for you.

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