He wants to send me to have a procedure where they would inject a saline solution into the spine and flush out the scar tissue and inject novacaine to ease the pain. He says over time the vicodin may not work as well which seems to be happening. He wants to schedule this for two weeks from now. Dear Linda C. Sorry to hear about your pain. I am not sure what the pain specialist is telling you.
Scar tissue adheres to the nerve or compresses by blocking the nerve exit from the foramen.
A simple injection of saline, I don't think it would remove the scar tissue. But, I have not done this technique. I think I would get a second opinion about the procedure. I am not sure what to recommend as I do not know what your exam is like nor what the MRI shows. Most of the time we recommend vigorous rehab and PT for recovery.