What to Ask an Orthopedic Doctor After a Failed Surgery

Undergoing surgery itself is scary, and you consider it as a last option. But you may not imagine anything more troubling than undergoing a surgery that fails to provide you relief. Even after surgery, feeling the same pain and experiencing the same symptoms can be your worst nightmare.

It is true that no surgery guarantees 100% success because a surgical procedure comes with a certain risk, especially when you undergo back or spine surgery. One of the most frequently failed surgeries in the orthopedic field is failed back surgery, also known as failed back surgery syndrome. The sign of your failed surgery may become apparent immediately, a few days and weeks after the surgery.

If you have undergone a failed surgery, you may want to ask your orthopedic doctor the reason and detail about your failed procedure. Here are the most important questions you can ask your orthopedic doctor after a failed surgery.

What Caused My Surgery To Fail?

When you start experiencing the symptoms of your orthopedic issue again or when you are told that your surgery has failed, asking the cause is the first thing that comes to your mind. Probably you don’t want to hear any excuses from your orthopedic doctor. Still, there is some explanation that you may want to hear. First, no orthopedic surgery will guarantee a 100% successful result, and you will have to accept that before undergoing the procedure.

Second, if your surgery failed, you are not alone because most people do suffer from failed surgeries especially failed back surgery. Third, your failed orthopedic surgery can be due to numerous reasons, including:

  • Misdiagnosis
  • Surgical error
  • Failure of a prosthetic or artificial implant
  • Scar tissue
  • Infection
  • Disc become herniated again

If you have failed back or spine surgery, your orthopedic doctor may describe the following things as a cause of your failed surgery.

  • Failure to fuse the spine
  • Nerve damage during your spine surgery
  • Inadequate removal of the bone or disc that was causing your symptoms
  • Creation of new problem or issue on some other part of your spine

If you suffer from certain clinical complications, you are at higher risk for failed surgeries. These illnesses that increase your risk for unsuccessful surgery include:

  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Autoimmune disorder
  • Peripheral artery disease

What Symptoms Will I Experience After A Failed Surgery?

Symptoms that you will experience after a failed surgery will depend on various factors, including the new problem created during surgery and the previous orthopedic condition that caused you to undergo surgery. Your orthopedic doctor will answer this question based on his understanding of what caused the surgery to fail. If your back surgery has failed, the probable symptoms you will experience after the failure of surgery will include:

  • Muscle spasm
  • Aching in your back, legs, and neck
  • Pain at the incision site
  • Sharp pain in your extremities
  • Numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness

Will I Need Additional Surgery After A Failed Surgery?

When your previous surgery provides extremely disappointing outcomes, it becomes hard to think of undergoing another surgery. Since a failed surgery could be due to numerous causes, your orthopedic doctor will assess these causes and your circumstance and determine the need for additional surgery. Usually, after a failed surgery, orthopedic doctors recommend recommitting to your routine conservative therapy to manage your symptoms. These conservative treatment options may include taking rest, managing weight, undergoing physical therapy, having pain medication, and going for hot and cold compression therapy.

Additional surgery becomes a serious treatment option when these treatments fail to alleviate your symptoms.

Orthopedic Doctor near Me In Central Maryland

Undergoing surgery requires courage, and when this surgery fails, it affects both your physical and emotional health. That is why it is important to find a skilled orthopedic doctor when considering surgery for your orthopedic condition. If you suffer a problem that requires orthopedic surgery, seek the expertise of board-certified orthopedic doctors at Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland (OACM). Our orthopedic doctor will provide top-notch surgical and non-surgical care for your orthopedic condition with excellent outcomes. It is exceedingly rare for us to observe a failed surgery.

You can seek surgical care from our orthopedic doctor by calling at (410) 644-1880 or toll-free at (855) 4MD-BONE (463-2663). Alternatively, fill out our appointment request form.

We will offer you an excellent surgical outcome!