Disc Bulge after Thoracic Microdiscectomy

Tagged: Thoracic decompression

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zlwalker
Participant

March 2, 2021 at 6:37 pm

Post count: 31

#33672

Dr. Corenman,

I had my epidural about a week ago; I haven’t noticed any change in my pain levels. I got hurt at PT seven weeks ago today. As of today, I have the following symptoms: Pain in my stomach when I don’t sit up straight; an L-shaped pain in the muscles on the right side of my back; ribs that feel inflamed to the touch; and lots of pain in my butt randomly. I feel a little defeated here. It just feels as if I haven’t healed in this amount of time, something has gone wrong like a reherniation. I know it is definitely saw-and-tooth healing, but it’s a long process.

I have a CT myelogram scheduled for next week to determine what’s going on. Another weird twist: My doctor noted that if I was still in pain, I could go get a spinal cord stimulator; this was noted before imaging was even suggested. That’s a more aggressive move, right? I would think that other options would be vetted beforehand, I guess.

Anyway, thanks for all your thoughts.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

March 3, 2021 at 6:59 am

Post count: 8660

#33684

The CT myelogram will be helpful to understand your current status. You can paste the radiologist’s report here.

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.

zlwalker
Participant

March 13, 2021 at 7:12 am

Post count: 31

#33724

Dr. Corenman,

Here’s the report:

FINDINGS:

Alignment is normal.

No acute bony abnormalities are seen.

There continues to be diffuse disc bulging at the T11-12 level. There is partial
calcification of the annulus. This disc bulging to flex the lower thoracic spinal cord
posteriorly. The appearance on sagittal imaging is similar to the MRI from 12/16/2020.

There is a defect involving the posterior aspect of the right T11-12 neural foramen
secondary to prior surgery. There is asymmetric soft tissue replacing the right T11-12
foramen. There is diminished contrast opacification of the exiting nerve root sheath
compared to other levels. This soft tissue may represent some disc material but also
probably represents some scarring from the previous surgery here.

There appears to be mild foraminal narrowing on the left side at this level.

Disc spaces and facet joints throughout the thoracic spine are otherwise well
maintained. No other lateralizing abnormalities are seen.

IMPRESSION:
DIFFUSE DISC BULGING AT T11-12 POSTERIORLY DEFLECTING THE LOWER
THORACIC CORD.

ASYMMETRIC SOFT TISSUE WITHIN THE RIGHT T11-12 LEVEL SUGGESTING A
COMBINATION OF DISC MATERIAL AND POSTOPERATIVE SCARRING.

This all seems pretty bad. I am guessing that I am probably looking at a revision microdiscectomy?

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

March 13, 2021 at 2:37 pm

Post count: 8660

#33729

I assume this was a new MRI and not a CT scan. If so, surprising that this scan did not have Gadolinium which could differentiate between a recurrent herniation and scar tissue (“This soft tissue may represent some disc material but also probably represents some scarring from the previous surgery”). I am not sure you are a candidate for a revision unless it can be proven that you have a recurrent HNP. If this was a CT scan, an MRI would be the next step in my opinion.

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.

zlwalker
Participant

March 13, 2021 at 3:08 pm

Post count: 31

#33733

Dr. Corenman,

The findings I posted were from a CT myelogram. Does that change your thoughts on the findings or does it still mean I may not be a candidate for revision?

Thanks for all you do!

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

March 13, 2021 at 4:08 pm

Post count: 8660

#33734

If you don’t have a recurrent herniation (the report is inconclusive), then what is the purpose of surgery? If you have thoracic nerve root pain with scar tissue only, surgery will be unhelpful. If you have thoracic pain at that level, possibly a fusion could be helpful. What are your current symptoms?

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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