When someone contacts our office and they tell us that they have been diagnosed with Post Laminectomy Syndrome we have to get information from them that will allow us to make a realistic assessment if they are someone that stem cell therapy can help. We can help some people with Post Laminectomy Syndrome, we may not be able to help others. How do we know who we may be able to help? We talk to people on the phone, we discuss their pain and symptoms and what happened after the surgery. If we think we can help someone, we tell them to come in for a consultation. If we do not think we can help, we don’t.
I want to turn this article over to the surgeons so they can explain how a patient may develop Post Laminectomy Syndrome. This first study was published in the medical publication Biomed Central research notes.(1)
Although not well known, post-laminectomy syndrome is an important cause of chronic back pain, which may lead to decreased quality of life, disability and psychological disorders. The prevalence of post-laminectomy pain was 60 % (in this study group). Most of the patients assessed in this study were male. . . their mean age was 45 years. All of the patients presented with chronic, intense pain that had lasted an average of 7.22 years. None of the patients exhibited high levels of physical fitness.
Lumbar laminectomy is one of the surgical procedures used to treat intervertebral disc protrusions (a bulging or herniated disc). It consists of removing the vertebral lamina to expose and allow access to the disc that is responsible for the nerve root compression. Although the vast majority of lumbar sciatic pain is mechanical in nature, the surgical procedure is required in only 1–3 % of cases.
Why does this surgery fail? According to the surgeons:
“The surgery to correct disc herniations is most commonly performed as an elective procedure in the patients who fail conservative treatment and who experience worsening of their lower limb pain and disability. Studies indicate that the failure of herniated-disc surgeries is related to insufficient diagnoses and the incorrect selection of patients for these procedures.
As many as one-third of the patients undergoing surgery for the correction of lumbar disc conditions experience recurrent postoperative symptoms. (One study” states that 20–40 % of the patients undergoing lumbar surgery will not experience benefits from the procedure and that the condition will worsen in 1–10 %.”
The high prevalence in our study was perhaps due to inaccurate indications for surgery, in which the preoperative pain may have been attributed to disc herniations despite the other possible differential diagnoses. The main causes of Post Laminectomy Syndrome are foraminal stenosis, internal disc extrusion, pseudoarthrosis and neuropathic pain, which in combination account for more than 70 % of the cases.
Several (studies) have suggested that the misinterpretation that a herniated disc is causing low back pain is the most common reason behind the spinal surgeries that result in post-laminectomy chronic pain syndrome beginning immediately after the procedures. This misinterpretation may be partially caused by an overestimation of the anatomical findings that are revealed during the imaging evaluations but are not related to the lumbago and usually do not explain the pain or justify surgical intervention.”
What more can you say?
- There is a rush to surgery that is not needed.
- Many people who get the surgery are not good candidates for the surgery.
- There was an over-estimation of damage that was thought to be revealed on MRI that were later found out not to be the contributing factor of that person’s pain.
Treatments options after the patient has been diagnosed with Post-Laminectomy Syndrome
The treatment options for the patient with Post-Laminectomy Syndrome is typically limited to more surgery or pain management.
- Some people may find success with the implantation of a spinal cord stimulation device. Other may not get any benefit and others may see a gradual decline in the pain management benefit that their device has offered them over time. Both of these reasons lead to a surgical removal of the device.
- Some patients may find themselves managed with opioid medications because there is thought to be no other way. Prescription narcotic use is a challenging way to manage pain.
- Some patients may be enrolled in exercise or physical therapy programs which will try to convince the body, through muscle education, how to function without causing pain.
- Some patients may require coping strategies and counselling.
A study from the Mayo Clinic published in 2018 (2) suggested a combination of all these treatments may help post-laminectomy syndrome patients who have previously undergone spinal cord stimulation and failed.
Can Stem Cell Therapy Help Post Laminectomy Syndrome?
The above study describes various coping mechanisms for dealing with Post-Laminectomy Syndrome because there is thought to be no other answers. Somethimes people presented with these options call or email us because they want to know if stem cell therapy can help them heal.
At the top of this article I stated that we must have a realistic expectation of what stem cell therapy can do in these cases. So we need to explore further with the person contacting us what is causing their post laminectomy pain.
The main considerations of why the patient continues to suffer from back pain after this procedure is two fold. The surgery did not address the true cause of the patient’s pain. The surgery itself caused more pain by damaging structures.
Recurring disc herniation and stenosis
If the patient continues to have recurring disc herniation, stem cell therapy may help by addressing the possible cause of the disc herniation.
- Disc herniation can be caused by injured ligaments and tendon attachments to the bone. Realistically, pain after surgery can find its source in the same pain generators that were activating before the surgery, the abnormal or hypermobility of the vertebrae.
- If the ligaments and tendons of the spine are loose, the vertebrae can cause compression throughout the spine. It is possible that the laminectomy may have found one source of the pain, but not all the sources of the pain. Further, as the spine continues to suffer from degenerative disc disease, more vertebrae will start moving around. It may be at this time a fusion would be recommended to a patient already suspicious of more surgery.
The ligaments which hold the vertebrae to each other may have been the cause of the patient’s pain all along and the continued cause of pain after the procedure. Laminectomy does not address ligament damage nor does MRI see it.
Tendon and Muscle damage
Stem cell therapy may help if there is a situation of tendon and muscle damage. In a situation like this we would examine the spine and look for tenderness and weakness in the muscle attachments / tendons and the spinal ligaments. If these structures are damaged, we would treat with regenerative injections including Platelet rich plasma therapy and/or stem cell therapy.
For the patient suffering from back pain after spinal surgery, nothing about their life is typical except in the common question they ask, “Can your treatments really help me?” There has to be a realistic expectation of what our treatment can do and what they can’t do. If there are issues of continued pain following a surgery, stem cells and PRP treatments may be effective in helping pain if there are issues with ligament and tendon instability causing spinal instability. Stem cells and PRP may help strengthen the tendon/muscle attachments and help patients who suffer from continued spasms.
Platelet Rich Plasma injections
- PRP treatments involve collecting a small amount of your blood and spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the platelets from the red cells. The collected platelets are then injected back into the injured area to stimulate healing and regeneration. Research has shown PRP to be effective in treating degenerative disc disease by addressing the problems of cervical spine ligament instability.
Stem cell injections
- Stem cell injections help restore ligaments strength by causing the regeneration of ligament, tendon, cartilage and bone regeneration.
To make the spinal muscles strong, and build your “core,” you would need resistance training. A problem following fusion surgery is that not only are the muscles damaged, but the muscle tendons are damaged as well. Resistance training or post-surgical rehabilitation cannot be successful if the tendons and muscles are not strong enough to flex and contract enough to build new muscle. Further, the muscle will shrink and atrophy making the spine that much more painful.
An assessment and and evaluation
If you suffer from Post-Laminectomy Syndrome, stem cell therapy may be able to help. Please use the form below and send in an email to me. This way we can help assess your situation and if it is worth pursuing stem cell therapy. You may also find help in my other articles as well.
Please see my other articles:
https://stemcellinstitute2.com/research-some-spinal-surgeries-and-mris-are-unjustified-and-wasteful/
https://stemcellinstitute2.com/why-are-people-at-high-risk-for-for-failed-back-surgery-still-waiting-for-surgery/
Do you have questions? Ask Dr. Darrow
A leading provider of stem cell therapy, platelet rich plasma and prolotherapy
11645 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD SUITE 120, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025
PHONE: (800) 300-9300 or 310-231-7000
Stem cell and PRP injections for musculoskeletal conditions are not FDA approved. We do not treat disease. We do not offer IV treatments. There are no guarantees that this treatment will help you. Prior to our treatment, seek advice from your medical physician. Neither Dr. Darrow, nor any associate, offer medical advice from this transmission. This information is offered for educational purposes only. The transmission of this information does not create a physician-patient relationship between you and Dr. Darrow or any associate. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or adequacy of any resource, information, product, or process available from this transmission. We cannot be responsible for the receipt of your email since spam filters and servers often block their receipt. If you have a medical issue, please call our office. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911.
References:
1 Garcia JB, Rodrigues DP, Leite DR, do Nascimento Câmara S, da Silva Martins K, de Moraes ÉB. Clinical evaluation of the post-laminectomy syndrome in public hospitals in the city of São Luís, Brazil. BMC research notes. 2015 Dec;8(1):1-7.
2 Bailey JC, Kurklinsky S, Sletten CD, Osborne MD. The effectiveness of an intensive interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program in the treatment of post-laminectomy syndrome in patients who have failed spinal cord stimulation. Pain medicine. 2018 Feb 1;19(2):385-92.