Yes, indeed, it is not possible or advisable to surgically remove evidence of arachnoiditis. PLEASE DON´T LET ANYONE DO IT. This, per the experts I have seen over the years. One arthritis specialist (up in age) insisted I not let anyone do any surgery on me "or you wil wind up in a wheelchair." I am glad you didn´t do it. All that is left for now is pain management, but one more thing: become well-versed in anti-inflammatory regime when it comes to FOOD! AT one point I had a marvelous MD who was a fellow sufferer, who put me on the path of avoiding anything that was inflammatory, and it did help in terms of dosage of pain killers. This means NO PROCESSED FOODS at all, no dairy, no gluten, no beans, no nightshades like tomatoes and eggplant, and the list goes on and on. Turned out to be the same preventative list of anti-inflammatory foods used by our local Stroke Clinic. It is the hardest thing to do, but once you get into it, you CAN. I was on it for at least 5 years, and things got a lot better. Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon, and am trying to get back on. Very, very strict regime, especially while socializing. Takes a lot of planning and preparation and hardly ever eating out unless very selective. And focus on vegetables, SOME Fruits, mostly salads with only oil and vinegar, and good protein (sourcing of protein is key also). Good luck to all, and my apologies if I am not using this system appropriately....still need to learn a lot about Mayo Connect