Abstract
Surgery in degenerative disease of the spine is used when conservative management fails.
The two most common surgical approach in spine degenerative pathology are decompression and stabilization.
Failed back surgery syndrome refers to patients who have had unsuccessful results after spinal surgery, with recurrent or residual back pain. It is a common problem encountered in neurosurgical practice. The causes include residual/recurrent disc herniation, epidural fibrosis or postoperative scarring, spondylodiscitis, arachnoiditis, mechanical instability following surgery, spinal stenosis.
Generally, in the first months after discectomy, persistence of symptoms can be related to residual or recurrent hernia and/or exuberant scar, so this is the most frequent differential diagnosis.
MR is the imaging modality of choice in the evaluation of patients with failed back surgery syndrome, allowing a correct diagnosis and therefore precise therapeutic indications.
Surgical ferromagnetic material and relative artifacts no longer represent an obstacle or a contra-indication to MRI examination.
In case of post-surgery MR examination, there is indication to the administration of contrast medium.
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D’Aprile, P., Tarantino, A. (2021). MRI in Postoperative Spine. In: MRI of Degenerative Disease of the Spine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73707-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73707-8_3
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