10 weeks post microdiscectomy with continued and increasing pain

Tagged: L5 S1, Lower Back, microdiscectomy, post op, surgery

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Kalona
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February 3, 2020 at 12:28 pm

Post count: 1

#32043

Good afternoon. As a way of background, I had a microdiscectomy performed on the L5-S1 disc that had bulged and impinged the nerve on 11/25/2019. I am currently 10 weeks post-op.

Pre-surgery MRI results from 11/4/2019 were as follows:

The vertebral bodies demonstrate expected height. Bands of degenerative marrow edema abut the anterior right aspect of the L5-S1 disc, more so at the L5. The L4-5 and L5-S1 discs as well as the T11-12 disc have degenerative desiccation.

Conus: The lower thoracic cord appears unremarkable. The conus terminates at T12-L1.

T11-12 – the disc bulges minimally with no significant stenosis.

T12-L1 and L1-2: No disc protrusion or stenosis is noted.

L2-3: The disc bulges minimally with no significant stenosis. The facet joints are mildly arthritic.

L3-4:The disc bulges minimally with no significant stenosis. The facet joints are mildly arthritic.

L4-5:The disc bulges minimally with no significant stenosis. Central posterior annular tear is also present. The facet joints are mildly arthritic.

L5-S1: The disc has focal extrusion centrally and to the right with an 11mm fragment of disc extending superiorly along the right L5 lateral recess. The protrusion and fragment compress the thecal sac, compressing and distorting the right S1 nerve root sleeve and nerve as it exist the thecal sac.

The prevertebral and posterior paraspinous soft tissues are unremarkable.

Surgery went well with no complications. Post-op I experienced pain, which I had anticipated. Post-op X-ray taken on 12/20/2019 findings: Mild discogenic degenerative disease at all levels, greatest at L5-S1. Mild lower lumbar facet arthrosis. No fracture seen, no osseous lesion.

Approximately 3 – 4 weeks post-op I was still in significant pain in my lower back, but the pain down my leg and into my foot was starting to lesson. 6 weeks post-op, pain in my lower back was increasing and walking became more difficult. At times the pain would be so severe, I couldn’t walk even short distances without assistance.

Approximately 8 weeks post-op I began to experience intermittent pain down my leg and into my foot, again. The more I move, the more pain I experience. I returned to work after 4 weeks. I work from home 2 days a week, more if the pain is too much. Lying down, sitting up straight, standing, walking, adjusting my position all HURT significantly. Today, I felt a stabbing pain in my lower back when I moved my shoulders forward as a reaction to something someone said. I have no quality of life. I walk with a cane and cancel personal engagements because I’m just in too much pain.

I’ve started acupuncture treatments and I finally have the approval of my surgeon to start PT (which is scheduled to start in 3 days). My surgeon believes I probably have a hemotoma around the internal surgical sight and once that dissipates and is absorbed by the body, the pain will subside.

After surgery I was prescribed 3 separate rounds of steroids (no relief was felt from that). I took pain meds (narcotics) for a short time and then Torredol and eventually Ibuprofin (which I’ve stopped due to stomach issues). At this point, I’m only taking Gabapentin. I’m struggling to focus on work due to the pain. The emotion of this is weighing on me and I can feel depression starting to work its way in. I’m tempted to call my surgeon and ask him to put in orders for an MRI, but my husband thinks I should wait to see what the physical therapist sees when I’m evaluated in a few days. I’m concerned about a re-herniation, but I don’t want to be a pest by calling my surgeon about the pain, again. The slightest movement can cause me to scream out in pain (I don’t mean to…it just happens). I’m absolutely miserable and constantly in pain.

I’m reaching out to you in hopes of getting your opinion. Do my symptoms sound ‘normal’ to you at this stage? Should I request an MRI? Should I seek a 2nd opinion?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and insights.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

February 8, 2020 at 7:30 am

Post count: 8660

#32051

I think you need a new MRI with gadolinium. You might have a seroma (a post-surgical fluid collection), a recurrent HNP, a missed fragment, an infection or a disorder at a different level (unlikely). Your post-op symptoms are not typical and you need further work-up> I would include labs to look for infection.

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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