When Revision Spinal Surgery Is a Good Option

Having surgery on your spine probably wasn’t something you entered into lightly, but the struggle to move without back pain or neck pain drove you to this decision, and your hopes were high. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, and you still struggle.

The fact is that more than half of spine surgeries are successful, but that leaves a fair number of surgeries that don’t succeed the first time around, putting surgery back on the table.

The team of spine health experts here at Texas Spine Consultants, including Michael Hennessy, MD, Chester Donnally, MD, Heidi Lee, MD, Andrew Park, MD, and Robert Viere, MD, understand how frustrating it can be to contemplate revision surgery. In most cases, this need stems from circumstances that are hard to control, and our goal, as always, is to relieve your pain and restore your quality of life.

Let’s take a look at when revision spine surgery might be a good option.

Why another spine surgery?

There are several reasons why spine surgeries can fail, and we want to review a few of the more common here. 

Failed back surgery

You might need a revision spine surgery if the original surgery failed to relieve your symptoms. Called failed back surgery syndrome, the surgery missed its mark, and you did not experience a reduction in symptoms of at least 50%. Despite the name, this also includes neck surgeries.

Adjacent segment disease

This potential complication occurs sometime after your original surgery, in most cases, a spinal fusion. Fusing two vertebrae together can place more pressure on the vertebral segments above and below the fused segment. As a result, these areas can wear down more quickly and lead you back into discomfort.

Pseudarthrosis

This condition is where your bones don’t fuse together — bone nonunion. In terms of spine surgery, it typically means that the two vertebrae didn’t fuse properly.

Osteoporosis

If you have osteoporosis, it can greatly impact your results after spine surgery and accelerate post-surgical issues.

Outside of these issues, if you have a pre-existing condition like diabetes, you’re more at risk for needing reoperation.

Getting another spine surgery

If your original spine surgery isn’t working out as you’d hoped, we want to assure you that we will do everything in our power to get you to your goals. Of course, we can try nonsurgical approaches first, such as physical therapy, to see if we can’t make some improvements.

If, despite our best efforts, you’re still in pain and your movements are limited, it might be time to consider another spine surgery. Naturally, undergoing revision spine surgery is entirely your choice, and we’re here to guide you.

To meet with one of our spine health experts to learn more about your options, please contact one of our offices in Addison or Plano, Texas, to schedule a consultation.