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  • ashleytudor
    Member
    Post count: 1

    Dr.Corenman,

    I was diagnosed with spina bifida occulta and a pars defect in my lumbar spine when I was 20 years old after playing collegiate-level volleyball year round for several years. Before my diagnosis, I was seen by four spine specialists, all of which thought I was simply a drug-seeker, which in fact I just wanted to know what was causing my pain.

    I finally found someone with some answers. He told me about the spina bifida and the pars defect. He performed a discogram outpatient to see if the L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs were pain generators. After an extremely painful procedure, it was determined that spinal fusion was my best option. Recently I had an MRI done to see if we could find anything causing me so much pain and the only thing it says is, “Focal bone marrow signal demonstrated in S1 is consistent with an intraosseous lipoma.” It states that there is no fracture or subluxation or acute process suggested.

    The surgery was 5 years ago. Now I have taken myself off of all pain medications. I am still living with chronic pain, mostly around my sacroiliac joints. I get giant knots directly on top of the joints which are very sensitive to touch and cause severe pain when pressure is applied to them. I have tried injections, chiropractic therapy, and physical therapy for years to try to improve the amount of pain I am in and nothing seems to help.

    I work at a very large, well-known hospital where I am from on the Orthopedic/Neurology floor and I spoke with a neurosurgeon this morning and he wants me to come into his office so we can order more tests.

    Which tests would you suggest I talk to him about? I have done a lot of research over the years. What do you think about a Myelogram, EMG, etc?

    I really need to be prepared when I see him and I am hoping you can please help me. Thank you for your time!

    Ashley
    Chatanooga, TN

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    You need to elaborate on the surgery itself and the symptoms before and after the surgery. I assume that you underwent an L4-S1 fusion anterior and posterior. Did the fusion solidly fuse? Are the sacroiliac symptoms new and different or only a continuation of the symptoms you had prior to the surgery?

    It sound like you need a complete work-up which might include new MRI, new X-rays, possibly a new CT scan as well as a full diagnostic injection work-up (SI blocks, facet blocks) among others.

    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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