Epidural Fibrosis is scarring that naturally occurs after back surgery. It is one of several possible causes of a condition known as failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Epidural fibrosis is perhaps the most common cause of FBSS.
Scarring is a natural response to any type of wound that disrupts a body structure, and the area around your spinal nerve root during surgery is no exception. The process is similar to what happens when you scrape a knee; in other words, the development of the epidural fibrosis is comparable to the scab that forms on your knee after the initial injury. The scab and the epidural fibrosis are natural healing processes.
Once the scars form, there’s no genuinely effective treatment. Your surgeon may want to go back in and break up the scars with an endoscope, but this actually can result in more scarring and epidural fibrosis.
Typically, symptoms associated with epidural fibrosis (scar tissue around the nerve root) appear at 6 to 12 weeks after back surgery.
Severe Leg Pain
Severe Back Pain
Nerve Pain
Burning Pain
Searing Pain
Sharp Pain
The best way to treat epidural fibrosis is to prevent it, or at least to reduce the formation of the scar.
Here is a really good website that explains the difference between normal scar tissue and epidural fibrosis.
https://spinecenteratlanta.com/conditions/fbss/fbss-causes/epidural-fibrosis-scar-tissue/
If you have or know of any support for Epidural Fibrosis, please offer your suggestions here.
