Failed Back Surgery - Facts From A San Francisco Spine Surgeon

Dr. Kenneth Light says failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), describes the condition of people who have had an unsuccessful result with back surgery or spine surgery. "These patients often experience continuing pain long after their surgeries are done," he says.

“There are numerous causes of failed back surgeries,” says Dr.  Light. “Until recently, the only course of treatment has been to perform a spinal fusion procedure, which is done to stabilize the spine and to attempt to prevent further damage to the injured areas." But Dr. Light says that spinal fusion has some disadvantages including "variable loss of range of movement in the treated areas and, in many cases, recurring back pain or neck pain and further damage to the spine.”

Dr. Light recently became the first spine surgeon in the country to successfully reverse a spinal fusion. Until recently, spinal fusions have been considered to be permanent. “I believe that many fusions should not be done as a first choice", says Dr. Light. "Correcting a previous surgery can be demanding. The surgeon must avoid causing any further injury to the injured areas,” he says. “Then the surgeon starts all over again to  repair the original problem."

For more information visit www.drkennethlight.com

Dr. Kenneth Light graduated from the Cornell University College of Medicine in New York City. He completed his residency in Orhopaedic Surgery at the University of California in San Francisco., and completed a fellowship in spinal surgery under the guidance of Edward H. Simmons at the State University of New York in Buffalo.

Dr. Light was director of the spine clinic at San Francisco General Hospital, and was founder and medical director of the San Francisco Spine Center at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, is board certified with the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at University of California, San Francisco. He is currently in private practice in San Francisco where he specializes in reconstructive surgery in patients who have had failed surgeries.

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