L5 S1 microdisectomy 2 surgeries in 5 days now unable to walk properly

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crazylegs
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May 6, 2011 at 1:23 pm

Post count: 2

#4548

I’m very new to asking for help but am so scared I don’t know what else to do! On the 15th of April 2011 I was booked in for a routine and apparently very simple l5 s1 microdisectomy for a protruding ruptured disc it is now the 5th of May and I was just discharged from hospital yesterday in a much worse condition then I entered it in. I am 21 fit and healthy and injured my back while working. On coming out of surgery on the 15th of April I noticed that my right foot was very numb and i was in a lot of pain. On talking to my ns he said it was completly normal and would settle down in a week or two. He came in the next morning concerned as I was still very sore and my pain in my bottom and my legs were still very prominent and I was experiencing new pain in the other leg and in my butt cheek. He sent me in for an mri and discovered that the original ct scan had missed the fact that the right side was also in need of surgery so on the 20th of April I had a second surgery expecting to be able to go home the next day however when physio came to help me mobilise we discovered that my legs didn’t seem to remember how to work properly I resembled a baby lamb walking for the first time and while laying down if I stretched my legs out my right leg jumped around the bed having a fit. It looked like my legs had a mind of their own. My ns has never seen anything like it it is now 2 weeks and 2 days after my second surgery and I have been sent home with a wheel chair and a walker and encouraged to mobilise as much as possible. Although the shaking has improved a little bit it is still there and it is very scary I feel like my legs are not mine i feel very unbalanced like im walking on a tight rope it takes so much concentration to put one foot after another and nobody knows what is wrong with me. I am in so much pain my leg and bottom pain is still killing me my foot is numb and I can’t walk without supervision my surgeon now seems to want nothing to do with me I asked if I could have another mri done before I left the hospital but he refused saying it was a waste of time I’m scared can anybody plz shed some light on this for me if I have missed any info plz let me know its all very fresh in my mind I’m all struggling trying to make sense of it all
kind regards and much appreciated

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

May 6, 2011 at 8:24 pm

Post count: 8660

#4549

It seems like you need to have another MRI. There are many possibilities to your symptoms and one of them is yet another herniation. It is very unusual but a new herniation can occur in the short post operative period. This could account for your symptoms. A hematoma can occur (a collection of blood in the spinal canal) that can cause compression and that can be removed with a small injection. Another possibility with your complaints is compression of your spinal cord by a different herniation in your neck or thoracic spine. This would cause some of your complaints but not typically the increased pain. Even a central problem (brain) can cause this. I would request that your surgeon give you another look. A physical examination may shed some light on the origin of your symptoms.

If he is not agreeable, many times a different physician would be reluctant to give an opinion in so short a time after surgery, but I think in your case, it might not be too bad an idea for another set of eyes.

Hope this helps.

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.

crazylegs
Member

May 6, 2011 at 10:24 pm

Post count: 2

#4550

Thank you so much for giving me some sort of answer other than you don’t know it has put my mind a little more at ease to know that something could be causing it I also wanted to mention that occasionally but not always my top half of my body tremors also its just for a small moment but when it happens it sends a tingling/pins and needles sensation over my ENTIRE body.

When my NS declined to do another MRI and then poceeded to discharge me telling me he had had enough and wasn’t going to deal with it any more I was thinking of the worst I have been investigating every avenue trying to figure out if something could have gone wrong during the surgery but it could just be that I have a weak back bone… I will keep you posted but I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart it means alot to have services like yours to give us a bit of hope!
Thanking you kindly
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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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