Skip to content
Amandeep Bhalla, MD
Revision Spinal Surgery in Long Beach, CA: Dr. Bhalla, orthopedic spine surgeon in Long Beach

Care services · Long Beach, CA

Revision Spinal Surgery in Long Beach, CA

Sometimes spine surgery does not relieve the pain, or new problems develop years later. Revision surgery is a specialized field: scar tissue, altered anatomy and existing hardware all demand experience. Dr. Bhalla sees many patients whose first operation was elsewhere.

Revision Spinal Surgery in Long Beach, with patients welcome from across South Bay, Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area.

Book a consultation(562) 427-8119

Overview

What is revision spinal surgery?

Revision surgery is any operation on a part of the spine that has been operated on before. It may mean removing or replacing hardware, completing a fusion that did not heal, decompressing a nerve trapped in scar, or treating a disc that herniated again or wore out next to a fusion.

Planning starts with understanding exactly why the first surgery fell short. Dr. Bhalla reviews your prior operative reports and imaging, orders new studies where needed, and only recommends surgery when the cause of your pain is clear.

Book a consultation(562) 427-8119
Revision Spinal Surgery: patient care
Revision Spinal Surgery: recovery

Is it right for you

Who is a candidate?

Not everyone with pain after surgery needs another operation. Revision is considered when imaging shows a correctable structural problem that matches your symptoms.

Conditions treated

  • Failed fusion (pseudarthrosis)
  • Recurrent disc herniation
  • Adjacent segment disease
  • Loose or broken hardware
  • Persistent stenosis or scar compression

Common symptoms

  • Pain that never improved or returned
  • New arm or leg symptoms
  • Instability or a sense of giving way
  • Progressive numbness or weakness

Near you

Revision Spinal Surgery in Long Beach, CA

Dr. Bhalla provides revision spinal surgery for people in Long Beach and the surrounding cities. Dr. Bhalla leads the Spine Center at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center.

If you live in Signal Hill, Lakewood, Seal Beach, Orange County or anywhere nearby, a consultation is a short drive away.

Book a consultation

Patients come to us from

  • Long Beach
  • Signal Hill
  • Lakewood
  • Seal Beach
  • Los Alamitos
  • Cypress
  • Bellflower
  • Torrance
  • Huntington Beach
  • Carson

Not on the list? We see patients from across Southern California.

Benefits

What are the benefits?

A well planned revision can give you the result the first operation was meant to.

  • Correct the cause

    Treats the specific structural problem, not just the symptoms.

  • Stabilize

    Completes a failed fusion or replaces failed hardware.

  • Free the nerve

    Removes scar or bone pressing on nerves.

  • Minimally invasive when possible

    Many revisions can still use small incisions and navigation.

Recovery

How long is the recovery?

Revision recovery is often similar to a first operation of the same type, though scar tissue can mean a little more soreness in the first weeks.

  1. 01/First days

    Hospital or home

    Simple revisions may be outpatient. Larger ones involve a short stay.

  2. 02/Two to six weeks

    Early healing

    Walking program, wound checks and a gradual return to light activity.

  3. 03/Three to six months

    Rebuilding

    Therapy restores strength. Fusion revisions continue to heal bone over several months.

Safety

Is it safe?

Revision surgery carries somewhat higher risks than first time surgery because of scar tissue and altered anatomy, which is why experience matters. Dr. Bhalla uses navigation, neuromonitoring and careful preoperative planning to reduce those risks.

Frequently asked questions

My first surgery was somewhere else. Can you still help?

Yes. Bring or have us request your operative reports and imaging. Most of Dr. Bhalla’s revision patients had their first operation elsewhere.

How do you know what went wrong?

A detailed history, a physical exam, and updated imaging such as MRI, CT and flexion extension X rays. Sometimes a diagnostic injection pinpoints the pain source.

Will the hardware be removed?

Only if it is loose, broken, causing pain or in the way. Well positioned hardware is usually left alone.

Is a second opinion worth it?

Always. Revision decisions are complex, and a second set of eyes on your imaging costs nothing but time.

In the news

Dr. Bhalla on this topic.

All coverage

Other services

More ways we treat the neck and back.