Dysphagia 2 years after surgery

Tagged: ACDF, Hardware removal, loose screw

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

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bhalo
Participant

August 6, 2019 at 1:59 pm

Post count: 3

#30810

I had an C4-7 ACDF performed 2 years back. I had a few complications
1) Both screws on the top on C45 backed out. The plate backed up a bit.
2) I lost a bit of height (not sure whether fusion caused it or the plate backing).
3) There were mild to moderate foraminal stenosis which was not cleared in the surgery. I have some pain in the front of the arm on the left side due to it (I did not have it after the surgery, May be the height change is causing it)

One of the screw is now causing some sensation on the esophagus(this is recent).
I also have shoulder blade pain on both sides (which is happening for last two months).

I am fused on C45, C56 (CT scan says boney fusion, surgeon rated it as complete fusion)
I am fused on C67 as well (CT scan says minimum. Surgeon says its fusion graded 3, out of 1-4, where 1 is the best fusion and 4 is the worst). He explained extension flexion does not show non-fusion.

Question.
1) Do I need a hardware removal surgery? How risky is it? Nerve injuries are more common in the hardware removal? specially for 3 levels?
2) Is there anything that can be done for the C6 arm pain or the shoulder blade pain? Do I have to live with it.

I had no regular pain before the surgery and after the surgery (there were some shouldblade and arm pain, which seemed to be up and down and now seems more regular).

I am not seeing the same surgeon who did the surgery. This surgeon is very conservative and less likely to do anything. Most asked me to fix the screws after the loose screws were caught. He said it may still fuse and may not back out anymore (but I think I lost height in the neck and that’s probably causing the shoulder blade pain, because nerves in the back are squeezed due to height loss?)

Amazingly I am fused completely on two levels and I m close to be fused on the 3rd. I am also worried that I might lose more height on C67 after the hardware removal.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 7, 2019 at 7:51 am

Post count: 8660

#30811

Prominent hardware can cause dysphagia as the esophagus is right in front of this hardware. Loose screws generally mean that there is a lack of fusion (pseudoarthrosis) as the screws would not back out if there was no motion (a solid fusion). Occasionally, the graft settles and the settling will cause the screws to back out. The settling then allows the graft to fuse when it becomes more compact,

These screws can occasionally cause some erosion of the wall of the esophagus so I would at the minimum take this hardware out. If you still have foraminal compression at one level, if that level is not fused, I would consider revising that level, take the old graft out, redo the decompression and replace the graft with your own bone (ICBG). If that level is truly fused, then a posterior foraminotomy is the treatment of choice.

You will not lose graft height if the level is solidly fused.

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.

bhalo
Participant

August 7, 2019 at 8:46 pm

Post count: 3

#30815

Does Dysphagia get better after the removal? (I did not have any significant dysphagia 2 months back. Its recent)

How common is vocal cord paralysis or laryngeal nerve damage in the hardware removal (specially in 3 level surgery).

Is it true that this surgery is not that uncommon as surgeons have to remove old hardware to add a new plate for adjacent segment disease?

There is a chance one of the level is not 100% fused, CT Scan shows bones crossing in some places and flexion-extension x rays do not show any major movement. Should that segment be protected by a one level plate? Or just completely removed.

bhalo
Participant

August 8, 2019 at 1:38 am

Post count: 3

#30816

I have been feeling the screw on my esophagus (which I did not feel two days back). I am worried if it comes out. Should I go to emergency to check it out?

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 8, 2019 at 8:56 am

Post count: 8660

#30818

Dysphagia will improve if caused by obstruction due to a mass compressing the esophagus that is subsequently removed (screw).

If you had injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) from the initial approach, many times it can heal on its own but if it doesn’t, then generally the same sided approach should be used when removing the hardware. The RLN is more susceptible to injury by a right sided approach than a left sided approach due to the anatomy.

Redo surgery unfortunately is not uncommon.

I don’t think the screw is an emergency but it does need to be addressed soon.

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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