The question
The incidence of developing failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) after spinal surgery is estimated in the range of 10% to 40%, depending on the type of surgery.
(Chan CW, Peng P. Failed back surgery syndrome. Pain Med. 2011;12:577–606. Sebaaly A, Lahoud MJ, Rizkallah M, Kreichati G, Kharrat K. Etiology, evaluation, and treatment of failed back surgery syndrome. Asian Spine J. 2018;12:574–585.)
Patients with FBSS are suffering from persistent or recurring low back pain, sometimes associated with referred or radiating leg pain, despite having undergone lumbosacral spine surgery. This heterogeneous group of patients is often difficult to treat, as they experience a wide variety of complaints. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is considered an effective treatment option for patients with FBSS and failed neck surgery syndrome (FNSS) to improve back and/or leg pain as well as the functional status of a patient.
Our client wanted to bring an upgraded neurostimulator with innovative features to the market. Before doing that, it was important for them to understand what the most common patient outcome goals are. The question behind this: will applying goal setting, as a form of patient empowerment, further improve the outcome of SCS?