Severe calf muscle cramping post op L5-S1 fusion..

Tagged: leg pain after ALIF (anterior fusion)

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Douglas
Participant

June 2, 2016 at 2:50 pm

Post count: 3

#22291

Hello Doctor Corenman. April 2013 I had ALIF at L5-S1 with instrumentation.
Immediately following surgery, I had pain down both glutes / piriformas muscle to behind both knees into calf muscles. What has really struck me is the continuous vacillation of both calf muscles. All of the above not present before surgery.

Subsequently, have had 2 contrast MRI’s, x’rays, and EMG. Both MRI’s show nothing of consequence. No focal disc herniation identified. Narrowing of the L4-L5 and L5-S1 neural foramen. The EMG indicated some interference at L5
None these symptoms was present prior to surgery. I have been given lyrica which doesnt seem to help.
I am convinced there is some nerve irritaion and would like to have this corrected.

Am I being unreasonable? I am a very fit individual and always had an active lifestyle. This pain has progressed continuously since the surgery, and is starting to affect my physical/mental well being.

Because of the artifact caused by the hardware, the MRI seems to be of little help. Is there any other way to determine if the nerves are irritated or compressed, and if so, what would you recommend for treating this?

Much Appreciated.
Doug.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

June 2, 2016 at 8:54 pm

Post count: 8660

#22293

If you had an ALIF and then a posterior instrumentation (probably called “minimally invasive”), there was no decompression of the posterior nerves.

I am not sure how you can get narrowing of the L5-S1 neuroforamen under the influence of an ALIF as the ALIF distracts the foramen (unless this surgery was performed for an isthmic spondylolisthesis in which case the ALIF can compress the roots with distraction. See the current pars thread currently active on the forum to understand this concept.

What was the reason for the ALIF?

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

Douglas
Participant

June 5, 2016 at 7:03 pm

Post count: 3

#22329

MRI results Feb 11,2011. Grade2 anterolisthesis of L5 on S1 with bilateral pars interarticularis defects. Bilateral lateral neural foramen narrowing at this level.

At L4-L5 minimal broad-based disc bulge with minimal compression on the anterior thecal sac and no significant central canal spinal stenosis and exiting nerve roots are spared. Remainder of the lumbar spine disc levels are also normal in appearance

Dr. Corenman I hope the above explains the reason for the AlIf. Both procedures ie: fusion and instrumentation performed at the same time at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It was explained to me that a spinal fusion was the only cure for my situation.
Is it possible that this surgery has put more pressure on the exiting nerves? If so, can this be identified and subsequently relieved.

I can’t thank you enough for your insight.

Regards
Doug

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

June 6, 2016 at 7:24 am

Post count: 8660

#22330

If your symptoms warranted a fusion (and I imagine they did), then a fusion was the correct way to go. ALIFs are not a bad surgery but in the face of an isthmic spondylolisthesis, in my opinion, posterior decompression is also needed along with the posterior instrumentation. This is due to the bone spur that so typically grows off the pedicle in this disorder. The ALIF distracts the fused level which opens the foramen but does not remove the spur. Yes, surgery can put more pressure on the exiting nerves in this case.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

Douglas
Participant

June 6, 2016 at 8:47 am

Post count: 3

#22335

Dr Corenman….Thanks for the prompt response. Is decompression surgery a complicated process and is this something you would consider for me?

Doug

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

June 6, 2016 at 6:47 pm

Post count: 8660

#22341

Decompression surgery is a standard procedure and if your disorder warranted it, you could be a candidate for decompression. It depends upon your symptoms, your physical examination, imaging results and possible further testing such as selective nerve root blocks or other diagnostic testing.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

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81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

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