I had an ACDF at c3-4 for a herniated disc on April 8 2020

Tagged: Please help me missed herniated disc after surgery c3-4

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Elway777
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May 3, 2020 at 6:57 pm

Post count: 8

#32497

Ok I asked him that and he said no I looked it up and watched the video. He said my body will reabsorb it. So I’m reaching out to you to see if you can fix me. My insurance already said yes to surgery and I am not sure I trust my surgeon now. Would you consider fixing me please I don’t know what else to do. I am a father of 5 and just became a grandfather for the first time and I can’t get up to do anything without irritating that nerve. Please I beg you can you help me.

Travis Lewis

Elway777
Participant

May 3, 2020 at 7:10 pm

Post count: 8

#32498

My surgeon did say he would refer me to someone if need be I had my friends in the medical field tell me this is not an elective surgery it’s bad and I had the radiology ppl tell me that the herniated disc got left behind as in the surgeon didn’t get it all he missed all the part pushing on the cord and nerve root. And my surgeon is gunna do a laminectomy and foraminotomys to fix my stenosis and when I asked him if he was gunna get the disc material he said no my body will reabsorb it. So I am reaching out to the expert to see if you will fix me and get me back to living again. I’m begging you. I know surgeons don’t like messing with other surgeons work but i feel I need you for this before I get crippled up. I’m only 43. Please help me.

Travis Lewis

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

May 4, 2020 at 6:57 am

Post count: 8660

#32502

Please contact my office today and ask for a virtual consult ASAP. In addition, get your old and new MRIs on a DVD disc and FedEx them next day service to my office. We will have a virtual visit on the computer and I’ll give you your options. Please make haste.

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.

Elway777
Participant

May 5, 2020 at 11:11 pm

Post count: 8

#32509

Hello everyone. So my name is T.. and I have been experiencing some nerve symptoms since Noveember 2019. They started off small then kept intensifying. By the end of January I had an MRI done and it showed I had a herniated disc at C3-4. Ok. Since that time my surgeon didn’t think I had a spine problem even though I had symptoms across my shoulders and back of my neck and top front of my chest with right hand numbness. so there I sat in misery. By March 6 I could no longer work. I went for a second opinion and went to see Dr and he said I needed a mri and probably surgery so on March 31st I had another mri showing the herniation was way worse. Surgery was scheduled and I had an ACDF C3-4 surgery on April 8th 2020. Now here’s the problem. I called and called telling the surgeon I was not getting better but worse. I had another mri on April 17th. IT STILL SHOWS THE DISC HERNIATION AT C3-4. The surgeon did not dissect enough of the disc it’s still pushing On my spinal cord and nerve root. I have called and called and called telling them my symptoms and how they are still there. I have been to the ER 8 fricken times and they won’t help. My surgeon suggested a laminectomy for may 6 to relieve my spinal cord because I have spinal stenosis. He never mentioned that the herniation was still there. I found this on my own. Ok. That’s all fine but what about the herniation still. Even my Radiology report still reads there’s a disc still pressing on the cord and root for HECKS sake. DR SAID “SUCK IT UP” TILL SURGERY May 6. And if I felt that he missed something I should get a different surgeon. He then told my fiancé that no other surgeon would touch me. NOW I FIND OUT THERE IS NO SURGERY ON MAY 6 because the hospital cancelled it because there is more cases of covid 19 in Fremont county. ARE YOU SERIOUS. I have been in pain every second of every day and NOONE WILL HELP ME. I’m on the verge of questioning s……… I don’t know what to do. I have feelings of anger and rage for the doctors. We won’t go there!!!! I want to either magically be fixed or die. WHY WONT ANYONE HELP ME. I don’t understand. I haven’t been able to do anything I am pretty much bed ridden and I need help. I’m so mad and scared and in pain. I JUST WANT IT TO END BY ANY MEANS POSSIBLE AT THIS POINT.

Travis Lewis

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

May 6, 2020 at 7:27 am

Post count: 8660

#32510

Please-anonymity on this site. I understand your frustration. We’ll help get you through this.

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.

Elway777
Participant

May 10, 2020 at 12:21 pm

Post count: 8

#32530

Hello Dr. Corenman. I am really starting to have troubles with my diaphram muscle area going numb. I am on my way to colorado but this drive is killing me. I have that diagnostic nerve block tomorrow. I feel like if I don’t have this herniated c3-4 disc removed soon I’m a goner. It should have already been fixed but my surgeon failed me. The numbness and tightening around my bottom rib area I’d say maybe the T 6-8 area is worse by the day. And I have a tight chest just under the neck. Along with my trapezius muscle twitching and burning and sensitive to the touch with pins and needles. And my right hand is going numb and my arms are spazzing out like tremors uncontrollably shaking and my skin on my arms and back and chest are twitching. I am scared I have lost 25 pounds in 2 months and I feel like the end is near. I can’t walk to exercise much now because the diaphram weakness is getting to me. Please help. I’m begging.

Travis Lewis
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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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