Failed back surgery syndrome (i.e., post-laminectomy syndrome) is defined as chronic pain following lumbar surgical procedures. Surgery is performed to decompress a nerve root pinched by disc herniation or bony spur formation. Surgery cannot cut out a patient’s pain; it can only alter the anatomy and remove an anatomical lesion which is presumed to cause a patient’s pain. The main reason surgery may not effectively relieve pain is because the condition operated on was not, in fact, the cause of the pain. Factors that can contribute to continued pain include intraoperative injury to a nerve, failure to completely decompress a nerve, altered joint mobility with instability, epidural scar tissue formation, spinal muscular deconditioning, medical comorbidities, and psychosocial and economic factors.
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome