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. 2012 Nov;6(4):162-5.
doi: 10.1177/2049463712466517.

Failed back surgery syndrome: whose failure? Time to discard a redundant term

Andrew J Lucas  1
Affiliations

Failed back surgery syndrome: whose failure? Time to discard a redundant term

Andrew J Lucas. Br J Pain. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Failed back surgery syndrome or "failed back syndrome" refers to persistent pain after spinal surgery. This opinion piece will discuss the back ground and scale of failed back surgery syndrome. There will be a description of the medical and psychological factors that have been reported as predictors of poor outcome from spinal surgery. The management of failed back surgery syndrome will be discussed with a personal viewpoint based on working with this patient group for fifteen years. It will be argued that failed back surgery syndrome and failed back syndrome are now redundant terms and are not useful for either patient or healthcare provider, and so should be discarded.Key words Failed back surgery syndrome, failed back syndrome.

Keywords: Failed back surgery syndrome; failed back syndrome.

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References

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