Scar tissue formation caused by neck and back surgery can be extremely painful and limit your mobility and flexibility as well as greatly diminish your quality of life. Extensive scar tissue production is typically associated with the long incisions and other tissue damage caused by traditional open spine surgery.

Scar tissue forms as a result of the normal healing process after any neck or back surgery. The scar formed on the skin is usually not problematic. However, the deeper, hidden scarring around muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments may generate significant symptoms. These scars can be especially problematic after traditional open neck or back surgery because the highly invasive incision increases a patient’s risk of developing excessive internal scar tissue.

As scars mature, they contract because of the wrinkled appearance of many old scars. If a scar surrounds a nerve, the scar’s contraction may impact the nerve. Similarly, if a scar attaches a nerve to the surrounding bone, the contraction pulls on the nerve. While scar tissue itself is typically not painful, scar contraction can trigger pain if it binds or compresses a nerve root. Excessive production of scar tissue may lead to a condition known as epidural fibrosis.

Reducing scar tissue formation during spine surgery recovery

Excessive scar tissue is occasionally diagnosed after a patient’s initial recovery period has been pain-free following a lumbar discectomy or a lumbar decompression. If scar tissue that contracts over the subsequent 6 to 12 months binds a nerve root to the spinal canal or other nerves, or pinches a nerve, a patient may experience pain and other symptoms.

Doctors often recommend stretching exercises to reduce the pain associated with scar tissue contraction. If stretching exercises are ineffective in relieving pain, a laminotomy, which can be performed as a minimally invasive surgical procedure, may be suggested to remove the excessive scar tissue.

Treatment for excessive scar tissue formation after surgery

A minimally invasive laminotomy is an alternative to the laminectomy often performed in traditional open spine surgery. A laminotomy may be viewed as a smaller variety of laminectomy in which a vertebra’s lamina is modified but not entirely removed. The lamina makes up the arch of the vertebra and, in some cases, can reduce nerve compression when removed.

During a laminotomy, a surgeon makes a small incision in the back to remove scar tissue that is pressing on nerves and causing pain. The nearby muscles and ligaments are avoided during this procedure. At USA Spine Care, all of our minimally invasive procedures are performed as an outpatient surgery and our patients experience a shorter recovery time^ than patients who choose to undergo traditional spine surgery.

Sometimes, scar tissue formation is not actually the cause of pain, but another problem, such as spinal fusion failure, causes pain in a patient. If you are experiencing symptoms of post-surgery scar tissue contraction or open spinal fusion failure, contact USA Spine Care today for your no-cost MRI review.*

Our team will help you determine if you are a candidate for minimally invasive spine surgery as well as which procedure is best suited to treat your specific situation.

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