Potential complications from surgery are a given. And since your spine is the nexus of all your bodily functions, it’s vital that you experience as few side effects from a procedure as possible. A failed back surgery from a laminectomy, during which your back undergoes enormous stress, seems to be so common that it even has a name — post-laminectomy syndrome. If that sounds like it describes your situation, don’t wait to call on the expertise of post-laminectomy syndrome experts at pain management in NYC to find pain relief you can count on.
A laminectomy, also referred to as decompression surgery, is designed to ease the pressure on your spinal cord by creating more space around the affected area to alleviate the symptoms of a compressed spinal cord. If you underwent a laminectomy when you had pressure on your spinal cord, you thought it would reduce your back pain and disability.
But if the surgical procedure didn’t solve your problem, you may be suffering additional pain, discomfort and limited mobility due to the failed surgery. In fact, your failed back surgery symptoms, such as the lingering pain, may actually end up being worse than the original discomfort. The situation may even lead to depression and anxiety. After all, you went through a rigorous procedure, and yet now you feel worse than ever.
You don’t have to continue suffering. The top-rated back pain specialists in Manhattan at NYC pain management offer solutions based on the latest pain control techniques. Using a multidisciplinary approach to relieve your pain, the pain doctors in New York have extensive experience treating what you may now have, which is called post-laminectomy syndrome.
Surgical Matters
The laminectomy surgery may have involved the removal of bone or bone growths called spurs, parts of a vertebral disc or the entire disc where the pain was located. The spinal cord is so vital to your health, but so easily compressed. Any number of diseases or injuries can end up causing you pain. Some of the reasons for pressure on your spine or nerve roots include:
- Injury
- A herniated disc
- Spinal stenosis
- Tumors
- Arthritis
All surgeries have the potential for complications. Back surgery has many of the same complications — like bleeding, infection, nerve injury, blood clots or anesthesia complications — as other invasive procedures. A back surgery carries more specific complications, like spinal fluid leak or post-laminectomy syndrome.
Failed Back Surgery Symptoms
There are many parts to post-laminectomy syndrome, including physical symptoms and effects on your mental health and lifestyle. All of it falls under the umbrella of post-laminectomy syndrome or failed back surgery. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines post-laminectomy syndrome as “back pain with or without referred or radiating pain, located mainly in the lower limbs, of unknown origin, and persists or begins after surgical procedures.” It’s a common cause of back pain.
Failed back surgery symptoms range from physical to psychological issues. There is also a strong correlation between these symptoms and the level of productivity you may experience. Some symptoms of post-laminectomy syndrome include:
Confirming Post-Laminectomy Symptoms
A diagnosis of post-laminectomy syndrome is confirmed through a comprehensive exam, during which your pain doctor notes all the changes you’ve noticed in your life. Imaging tests like an x-ray, MRI, CT scan or discogram are included as needed. Advancements in these techniques, especially discograms, have allowed top-rated pain doctors in New York to better identify the cause of failed back surgery and provide the best post-laminectomy syndrome treatment.
X-rays allow your top pain specialists in NYC to see whether there’s any misalignment or further degeneration of your spine. An MRI is the standard for diagnosis to find the specific cause of your post-laminectomy syndrome. Other imaging studies and tests are useful for seeing the extent of damage, which is vital before proceeding with the most appropriate treatment for your symptoms.
All Roads Lead to Becoming Pain-Free
Post-laminectomy syndrome treatment depends on the specific reason why you’re experiencing failed back surgery symptoms. Just like normal treatment procedures for other types of back pain, your pain management doctor in Midtown first tries conservative methods, such as pain medication, physical therapy or nerve injections to relieve your symptoms.
Electrical nerve stimulation, prescription medication and additional, but minimally invasive surgery may be needed to resolve your failed back surgery symptoms. Because of the effects of failed back surgery on your mental health and quality of life, a multidisciplinary approach that includes psychological therapy is available at Pain Management NYC.
You don’t have to live with failed back surgery symptoms. The best pain clinic in NYC is the place to receive an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment for your back pain. Their interventional approach to pain takes their doctors to regenerative treatment, where healing is as much of a goal as pain relief. If your back still causes you pain even after surgery, contact the pain experts to start on your journey to living pain-free.
Boleslav Kosharskyy, MD, is a top-rated, best-in-class interventional pain management doctor. He is board-certified in Anesthesiology, Interventional Pain Medicine, and Palliative Care.
Dr. Kosharskyy is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Rehabilitation Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical College. He’s also the Associate Medical Director of Pain Medicine and Director of Anesthesia for the Joint Replacement Center at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein Medical College.
He is an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), and the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA)