previous C4-5 discectomy with fusion.

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hohman1118
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October 16, 2012 at 11:55 am

Post count: 8

#7168

Hello Dr. C.,
11 years ago I was involved in a near fatal MVA. Since my ACDF, I have had progressive pain (mostly in the last couple of years) in my neck and increasing numbness to my right inner arm and 4th and fifth fingers including palm. I have had some numbness and tingling to my left as well but not as much. Weakness accompanies the above symptoms and also coldness. I have also noticed numbness in my abdomen (weird I know). I have tried everything over the years mostly on my own. Initially I tried TENS, PT, hot/cold packs, Steroids, injections, NSAIDS, Muscle relaxers( highly allergic to those though). Wish not to take narcotics due to their limited help and also I have young children. I am a healthy 42 year old female that is active in youth sports. I am not over weight or engage in any risky behavior or habits. My doctor finally talked me into the MRI although I have been reluctant because I am quite sure I need another surgery. I have come to terms with the need to be more aggressive in treatment but I was wondering what you think so that I can be more aware of options. Thank you in advance!!
MRI Findings:
alignment of spine normal. There is anterior cervical discectomy and fusion c4-5. mild bone marrow edema is present at superior endplate of c7. there is a cord signal abnormality at c7 level consistent with degeneration. Otherwise the cord demonstrates normal signal without mass or syrinx.
There is multilevel degenerative disc disease as detailed below:
c1-2: normal
c2-3: posterior ligamentous hypertrophy with mild canal stenosis.
c3-4: annular disc bulging and posterior ligamentous hypertrophy resulting in mild canal stenosis and mass effect to cord with bilateral moderate neural foramina narrowing.
c4-5: discectomy with fusion. no canal stenosis or neural foramina narrowing.
c5-6: annular disc bulging posterior ligamentous hypertrophy resulting in mild canal stenosis and mass effect to cord with bilateral moderate to severeneural foramina narrowing.
c6-7: right paracentral disc protrusion resulting in right neural foramina narrowing. posterior ligament and hypertrophy.
c7-t1: normal.
Impression: c4-c5 ACDF. multilevel degenerative disc disease as described above worst at c3-c4 and c5-c6 with canal stenosis and mass effect on the cord.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

October 23, 2012 at 7:08 pm

Post count: 8660

#7235

Sorry about the delay. I responded to you but the return post must have become lost in the ether.

After a near fatal MVA and the need for a one level ACDF, there were probably other non-surgical neck injuries that after some years start to become more degenerative.

“Mild bone marrow edema is present at superior endplate of c7. there is a cord signal abnormality at c7 level consistent with degeneration”. Bone marrow edema is typically associated with significant degenerative disc disease and is commonly a neck pain generator. Cord signal change is typically an injury to the cord from compression. Why the radiologist called it “consistent with degeneration” does not make sense to me.

The cord does not typically “degenerate”. Normally, stenosis or narrowing of the canal causes cord compression and signal change but the radiologist notes the worse canal narrowing is at C3-4 and C5-6; “canal stenosis and mass effect on the cord”. The MRI report does not make much sense to me. Maybe the radiologist misdictated the levels.

Your arm pain could be generated by compression of the right C6 or C7 nerves; “c5-6: annular disc bulging posterior ligamentous hypertrophy resulting in mild canal stenosis and mass effect to cord with bilateral moderate to severe neural foramina narrowing.
c6-7: right paracentral disc protrusion resulting in right neural foramina narrowing. posterior ligament and hypertrophy”

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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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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