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Failed back surgery syndrome is not technically a syndrome, but rather a general term used to describe the unfavorable condition of a patient following back or spine surgery. Patients with failed back surgery syndrome may suffer from pain or functional incapacitation following a surgical procedure that was intended to relieve these symptoms. Failed bask surgery syndrome pain can be caused by a failure of the surgery to repair the original site of pain, or may be caused by the surgery itself.
Approximately 500,000 back/spine surgeries are performed each year. Unfortunately, back surgery cannot always relieve a patient’s pain completely. Between ten to forty percent of surgery patients experience failed back surgery syndrome for one reason or another. Spine surgery can only alter a person’s anatomy in order to decompress a pinched nerve root or stabilize a joint. Spine surgery cannot be used to correct spinal cord damage and is also not appropriate for other back/spine problems.
Back surgeons have a duty to properly assess a person’s condition, correctly diagnose the problem prior to surgery, conduct surgical procedures using the least invasive and most efficient surgical techniques, and take all precautions to avoid creating or exacerbating injury. When a surgeon or any medical professional fails to exact this reasonable care and a patient suffers from failed back surgery syndrome, the medical professional can be held liable for the damages a patient endures.
In some cases a doctor conducts a spine surgery procedure with prudence and superior care, but the nature of a patient’s physical condition causes failed back surgery syndrome. In other cases, failed back surgery syndrome can be contributed to or caused by medical malpractice, or negligence on behalf of a medical professional.
There are many causes of failed back syndrome which can originate from either of the aforementioned factors. In joint stabilization operations, failed back surgery syndrome can be the result of a failure of the bones to fuse properly, failure of implants to provide sufficient support in the surgery site, and the transfer of a lesion to another level. In nerve root decompression surgery, failed back syndrome can be caused by failure of the root to properly heal, swelling and trauma from the surgery, epidural adhesions, or recurrent nerve root conditions.
In some cases a medical professional can fail to properly diagnose the source of a patient’s back problems which can result in operation on the wrong part of the spine or failure to operate in a region that is contributing to a patient’s back problems. Another major source of failed back surgery syndrome is improper or inadequate rehabilitation after surgery. Medical malpractice may be responsible for failed back surgery syndrome in these cases, if they fail to facilitate adequate rehab programs for back surgery patients.
If you or a loved one is suffering from failed back surgery syndrome, medical malpractice may be responsible for your suffering.
To learn more about failed back surgery syndrome, you may wish to contact a knowledgeable and qualified attorney.
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