Pain after spine surgery has a reason — and finding it is a specialty of its own. Dr. Hobbs focuses on revision spine surgery: a careful, honest workup of why the first operation didn’t deliver, and a clear plan for what can.
Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) — also called post-laminectomy syndrome — is the medical term for persistent or returning pain after spine surgery. The name is misleading in one important way: FBSS is not a single diagnosis. It is an umbrella over many distinct, identifiable problems, each with a different solution.
That is why the evaluation matters more than anything else. Before talk of another operation, Dr. Hobbs works to answer one question precisely: why didn’t the first surgery work? Sometimes the answer leads to a targeted revision. Sometimes it leads away from surgery entirely. Either way, patients leave with clarity.
The worst outcome after a failed surgery is a second one that had no reason to succeed.
Six problems account for most pain after spine surgery. Tap each one to see where it lives, what it feels like, and how it is addressed.
3D illustrations for education — not actual scans or a diagnosis. Scar tissue is a seventh, less common contributor that imaging with contrast helps identify.
How your pain behaved after surgery is diagnostic gold. The pattern narrows the list before a single scan is ordered.
Suggests recurrence at the operated level.
Raises the question of residual compression or a different pain source.
Points toward the adjacent level or hardware.
Can indicate a fusion that hasn’t fully healed.
Check any that apply. Educational only — not a diagnosis; a licensed clinician makes all care decisions.
A revision evaluation is a reconstruction of the whole story. The goal is a specific structural answer.
Your original operative reports — what was done, and why — plus imaging from before and after surgery.
The precise course of your symptoms: improved and returned, never improved, or changed character. Each pattern narrows the list.
MRI with contrast to distinguish scar tissue from recurrent disc material, and CT to assess fusion healing and hardware position.
When a structural answer exists, revision has a clear target. When one doesn’t, Dr. Hobbs says so — because the worst outcome after a failed surgery is a second one that had no reason to succeed.
Not every post-surgical pain has a surgical solution. Structured physical therapy, targeted injections, and coordinated pain management often deliver meaningful relief — and an honest “no more surgery” is itself a diagnosis worth having.
Revision surgery addresses the cause directly — repeat decompression for recurrent herniation or residual stenosis, repair of an unhealed fusion, extension or removal of hardware, or treatment of the adjacent level. Operating in previously operated anatomy demands precision, which is why Dr. Hobbs uses image-guided navigation in revision cases.
Learn about revision spine surgeryEach cause has its own fix. These are the procedures Dr. Hobbs draws on once the workup has named the problem.
ABNS
Residency
M.D.Minimally invasive and revision spine surgery are the core of his practice.
Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
University of Kentucky medical degree; neurosurgery residency at the University of Chicago, serving as chief resident.
Image-guided precision where landmarks have changed from prior surgery.
Revision only when the workup shows a clear target — and a straight answer when it doesn’t.
Practicing at Northwest Indiana's most preferred orthopedic and spine practice, with offices in Crown Point & Chesterton.
One failed surgery doesn’t mean the story is over. Bring your records — Dr. Hobbs will tell you exactly what he sees, and what can be done about it.
(219) 250-5010Monday – Friday · 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
500 E. 109th Avenue
Crown Point, IN 46307
601 Gateway Boulevard
Chesterton, IN 46304
Your next step
Jonathan G. Hobbs, M.D. is a board-certified neurosurgeon at Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute. For questions about still in pain after back surgery?, call the office to arrange an individual evaluation and discuss which options may be appropriate.
Consultation offices: Crown Point, Chesterton. Your symptoms, examination, imaging, and prior treatment help guide the discussion.
Page updated . About content and medical review dates.
