FBSS is a generalized term that is used to describe the condition of patients who have experienced unsuccessful results following spine surgery to treat neck or back pain. Specifically, the term applies when spine surgery has not alleviated the original problem or has created other, more significant problems, resulting in continuing or worsening pain.
It is estimated that up to 40 percent of patients who undergo traditional open back surgery experience failed back surgery syndrome. The incidence of failed back surgery syndrome, or FBSS, depends upon many factors. For instance, FBSS tends to occur more frequently in the lumbar (lower) region than in the cervical (upper) region of the spine. Additionally, your risk of developing FBSS is much higher following an open spinal fusion procedure than after undergoing a minimally invasive technique.
Based on the studies published to date by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the only scientifically defendable statement that can be made about the incidence of failed back surgery syndrome is that its likelihood increases with the invasiveness of the spinal surgery that was performed.
