I received this story in response to a request on my website to patients who had undergone failed spine surgery.
When Surgery Makes Pain Worse
My fusion surgery (L5/S1) was going to be scheduled in the fall of 2015 after two prior laminectomies had eventually lost their effectiveness. My surgery was put on hold when my wife’s breast cancer reappeared in April 2015, five years after her mastectomy and radiation therapies. I became her primary caregiver, and she passed away in my home in December 2015.
I decided to move forward with my fusion surgery so that I could at least get relief from the discomfort in my legs and back. My thinking was that fixing my back would help in the grief process after losing my partner. The fusion surgery occurred in March 2016. After determining that the surgery had failed, the surgeon attempted to stabilize my back in April 2016 with a second surgery. That surgery also failed.
I was left in severe pain while also trying to manage the grief of losing a 44-year love affair. I was placed on 120 mg of MS Contin per day. I could barely walk and was faced with the possibility of spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair.
I spent the summer and early fall—at considerable personal expense—visiting five different neurosurgeons to determine whether my back could at least be stabilized. The consensus was that my situation was serious and that stabilization surgery was necessary. After navigating the medical system to be allowed surgery outside of my healthcare network, I underwent my third surgery in December, just nine days after the one-year anniversary of my wife’s passing.
The surgery did stabilize my spine, but I was still left in significant pain. It took me two more years and three attempts to taper off MS Contin. It was not easy. It was a very dark period of my life.
Still in considerable pain, I joined a chronic pain group facilitated by a psychologist who also suffered from chronic pain. That is when I became aware of neuroplasticity and psychological strategies to manage my condition. In hindsight, I regret that these options were not offered prior to surgery.
It has been a 10-year recovery process. I will always be grateful to my family, friends, coworkers, and fellow chronic pain sufferers for their support.
On a more positive note, I am no longer afraid of hell—I have already been there. Bruce
The Problem We Don’t Talk About
This story is not unusual. In my years of practice, I saw three to five patients each week who had gone through several spine surgeries, often ending up with worse pain. The surgeries were done well. The real problem wasn’t the surgery itself. It was the reason the surgery was done. Modern medicine focuses on fixing structural problems. If something is clearly broken, we repair it. This approach works very well when the diagnosis is clear. But chronic pain doesn’t behave that way.
When the Diagnosis Isn’t Clear
The spine naturally changes with age. Discs degenerate. Joints wear. MRI scans often show multiple abnormalities. But here’s the key question: Which one is causing the pain? If the answer isn’t clear, surgery becomes less focused, and the results are harder to predict.
It’s like going to the dentist with generalized mouth pain. If you have an identifiable cavity, fixing it solves the problem. But if the cause isn’t clear and you have several procedures, the chances of success drop significantly. The same principle applies to the spine.
The Nervous System Factor
There’s another factor that’s even more important and often overlooked. Chronic pain changes the nervous system. When pain persists:
- The brain becomes more reactive.
- Nerve signals amplify
- Pain thresholds drop
- The body shifts into a heightened state of stress.
This is called a sensitized nervous system. In this state, the pain is created and amplified by the nervous system itself. Operating under these conditions is problematic. Even a perfectly done surgery can lead to worse pain if the nervous system is already on high alert. The chances of this happening are between 40% and 60% for up to a year. This is a well-documented complication. Five to ten percent of the time, the pain is permanent.1
His situation involved significant personal stress. On the Holmes-Rahe stress scale,2 loss of a spouse or partner is ranked at the top. Unless it is a true emergency, procedures should not be performed while you are under significant situational stress. It was remarkable how often patients’ pain resolved when they were given time to wait and were helped to calm down.
Why More Surgery Often Makes Things Worse
When the first surgery doesn’t work, it is tempting to try again. Patients are in severe pain. Even a small chance of relief feels worth it. But if the original problem wasn’t structural, more surgeries often lead to:
- Increased pain
- Greater disability
- More emotional distress
Many scenarios of failed surgery completely destroyed people’s lives. This is not because the patient or surgeon failed. It’s because the wrong problem was being treated.
The Missing Step: Preparation
Preparation is one of the most overlooked parts of spine care. You would never run a marathon without training. Yet many people undergo major surgery without addressing the state of their nervous system. Simple signs, such as sensitivity to light, sound, or smell, can greatly reduce the likelihood that surgery will work.3 These show the system is already overloaded. If you don’t first calm the system, the results are less predictable. I would put every patient considering elective surgery through prehab for at least 12 weeks, with more predictable outcomes. I was simply following what the data recommended.
A Different Approach to Healing
The solution is not to ignore the pain, or “to do something.” It is to better understand it in a different way. Chronic pain is usually not caused by a structural issue. Even if there is an anatomical abnormality, it is also a neurological and physiological state. The encouraging news is that the brain can change. Through consistent, simple practices, you can:
- Calm the nervous system.
- Reduce inflammatory stress responses.
- Create new neural circuits that don’t emanate pain.
This is the process of neuroplasticity. You cannot “think your way out of pain.” You can change the conditions that cause pain.
What Works
The tools are surprisingly simple, but they require repetition. The focus is on developing skills, not on the discomfort. You can learn to bring your body into a safe state, where you can recover and heal. Some strategies include:
- Awareness of your unwanted thoughts without reacting
- Curiosity instead of fear
- Gratitude to engage safety pathways
- Daily repetition (10–20 minutes)
Over time, usually three to six months, most people improve.
- Pain circuits weaken
- New, healthier circuits strengthen
- Your experience of pain shifts
This isn’t a quick fix, but it is much easier than constantly fighting pain and living without any hope of an enjoyable future. My term for being trapped by pain is “The Abyss.” It is a dark place, without a bottom, and no hope of escape. My course, The DOC Journey, outlines a self-directed sequence of lessons that allows you to do your own prehab.
The Role of Surgery
Surgery does have a place. When there is a clear structural problem, like instability, fracture, or nerve compression, surgery can be very effective. But for pain alone, without a clear cause, the success rates drop dramatically. That distinction matters.
Final Thoughts
The tragedy is not that surgery exists. The tragedy is that patients are not always given the full picture. Many people have irreversible procedures without first being offered treatments that focus on the nervous system, which is always a factor in experiencing pain, especially chronic pain. As this patient’s story shows, the cost can be enormous. His story is tragic, but nearly as tragic as many others I have seen. However, I have learned that anyone can heal, regardless of how long they have been in pain, the severity of their pain, or the number of prior procedures.
He is still experiencing pain, but it is better. I sympathize with him in that he experienced prolonged unnecessary suffering, and these operations could have been avoided.
I am personally not happy that I needlessly suffered for many years. I am grateful to be out of pain and to have learned to help others. I hope he reaches out, as many people can go to almost pain-free.
References
- Perkins FM and Henrik Kehlet. Chronic Pain as an. Outcome of Surgery. Anesthesiology (2000); 93:1123-33.
- Holmes TH, Rahe RH. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale.J Psychosom Res (1967); 11:213–8. doi:1016/0022-3999(67)90010-4
- Waller N, Harte SE, Harris RE, Schrepf A, Smith T, Ichesco E, Kaplan C, Sunzini F, Minhas D, Marder W, Till SR, Williams DA, Brummett CM, Basu N, As-Sanie S, Clauw DJ.Visual hypersensitivity as a transdiagnostic marker of surgical pain response in arthritis and chronic pain syndromes. Arthritis & Rheumatology. Published online December 26, 2025. doi: 10.1002/art.7004