The Journal of Practical Pain Management reports that neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons perform over 200,000 lower back and spine surgeries every year. The outcomes for success are questionable with up to 40% of these patients developing Failed Back Surgery Syndrome or FBSS. The rate of further surgical success to correct the failed procedure has even more dismal statistics: 30% of those who have FBSS have success with a second spinal surgery, 15% with a third surgery, and 5% of a fourth surgery are successful in reducing the degree of chronic pain.
What is Failed Back Surgery Syndrome?
The Center for Advanced Orthopedics and Pain Management report that Failed Back Surgery Syndrome is a long-term chronic pain condition that includes back and/or leg pain. The pain is often described as severe and never-ending, often worsening throughout the day. The most common complications from FBSS are scarring and adhesions which damage nerve roots through compression. While the surgeon may feel he has performed a successful operation, the patient is left with lifelong pain and suffering from FBSS that is often extremely severe with little to no relief; this pain can persist and detrimentally alter one’s life and ability to function in society.
What can Cause Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS)?
With 40% of spine and back surgeries ending with a diagnosis of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome the cause may found among a variety of reasons. FBSS can be the result of altered joint mobility related to the surgery site, scar tissue development and tissue adhesions, post-op pressure on a spinal nerve, disc herniation post-surgery, surgery site infection, hardware malfunction or failure, surgeon error where damage to the spinal nerves occurred, where the surgery was performed at the wrong level, or the procedure was not performed under the most sterile conditions. In addition, the surgeon may have performed more surgery than was actually necessary, did not place and secure the hardware appropriately, or operated without identifying the true source of original pain and impairment.
Suffering from Failed Back Surgery Syndrome? Get Trustworthy Help!
With 40% of patients experiencing Failed Back Surgery Syndrome along with other serious life-changing complications, consultation with an Atlanta Failed Back Surgery Syndrome attorney is the right decision to make. You may be faced with life-long pain, loss of the ability to be gainfully employed and years of treatment or further surgeries as well as expensive medications for pain management and control. You may have many questions you want the answer to such as “Was this the surgeon’s error,” “Was the hardware used defective or improperly placed?” “Was my infection caused from the surgery team breaking sterile precautions?” or “How will I ever be able to work and provide for my family again?”
Call the Atlanta attorneys at our firm for assistance with your failed back surgery case. A free consultation to review your situation and case is beneficial in determining not only your course of action, but your treatment plan as well. Our Atlanta based attorneys are experts in working with victims who are suffering from Failed Back Surgery Syndrome. Make the call to the experienced law team that understands the serious complications that can occur from back or spinal surgery, such as failed back surgery syndrome. Call Goldstein Hayes & Lina, LLC who will develop a winning plan with you.