Leg Pain after Microdiscectomy

Tagged: Continued nerve pain after 3 level lumbar discectomy, how your microdiscectomy should progress after surgery

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Qrkr0730
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June 5, 2019 at 5:57 pm

Post count: 10

#30518

Hi Dr. Corenman,

I am new to his forum. This is my story. I have been working a computer job since 2013. Up until a year ago everything was fine. I started getting left leg pain and buttock pain. Right leg is pain free. I tried PT, injections, chiropracting, etc. and nothing worked. The pain would be worse when I sit for a long time. I then went to a neurologist who ordered an MRI. Here are the findings:

Findings:
The lumbar veritable bodies remain normal aligned. The veritable body heights are maintained. The veritable bodies themselves display normal signal throughout the lumbar segment. The conus medullaris terminates at the L1/L2 level.

L1/L2
This level is normal

L2/L3
This level is normal

L3/L4
Mid loss of disc height and signal. The spinal canal is normal in caliber centrally. There is 1 to 2 mm of lateralizing disc material in the neutral foramina bilaterally, appears some partial compromise of the neural foramina, left greater than right. The exiting dorsal root ganglia are surrounded by fat.

L4/L5
There is mild loss of disc signal and disc height. There is 1 to 2 mm of disc material lateralizing to the right. There is some partial compromise of the right lateral recess as well as inferior aspect of the right neural foramen. The exiting dorsal root ganglia are surrounded by fat.

L5/S1
Mild loss of disc signal with 1 to 2 mm of disc material lateralizing to the left. There is partial compromise for the inferior aspect of the left neural foramen. The exiting dorsal root ganglia are surrounded by fat. The spinal canal is normal in caliber centrally.

I had a microdiscetomy on April 15 and have had no pain until this past Monday when I went back to work. I have been taking 150 MG 2X daily of Lyrica but have been wining off. I also take 25 MG of Zoloft, 500 MG of Naproxen and 800 MG of Metaxalone. Why has my sciatic nerve pain come back since I started work again? What can I do about it. I’m going to get another MRI tomorrow to see what’s up.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

June 6, 2019 at 11:40 am

Post count: 8660

#30529

Was this MRI performed after or before the surgery? What level and side was the surgery performed?

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.

Qrkr0730
Participant

June 10, 2019 at 2:51 pm

Post count: 10

#30553

This was before the surgery.

This is after:

L1/L2: No evidence of disc disease or protrusion, central canal stenosis, or neural foraminal narrowing.

L2/L3: No evidence of disc disease or protrusion, central canal stenosis, or neural foraminal narrowing.

L3/L4: Status post left hemilaminotomy with microdiscetomy. Posterior left subsarticular 2.0 mm disc protrusion-subligamentous disc herniation exnatnds into epidural fat and indents the thecal sac. Bilateral facet arthropathy with mild left neural foraminal stenosis. Central canal is patent.

L4/L5: Status post left hemilaminotomy with microdiscetomy. Grade1 (2 mm) anterolisthesis with uncovering of the interveteral disc. Posterior central 2.0 mm disc protrusion-subligamentous discherniation extends into the epidural fat and indents the thecal sac. Billateral facet arthropathy with mild left neural foraminal stenosis. Central canal is patent.

L5/S1: Status post left hemilaminotomy with microdiscetomy. Posterior left subsarticular 2.0 mm disc protrusion-subligamentous disc herniation exnatnds into epidural fat and indents the thecal sac. Bilateral facet arthropathy with mild left neural foraminal stenosis. Central canal is patent.

What is going on? Is this inflammation or a re herniation? What should I do?

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

June 10, 2019 at 5:20 pm

Post count: 8660

#30554

The radiological MRI report does not note any significant compression as 2mm protrusions are generally not too compressive (as long as the reading is accurate). There is a question of a degenerative spondylolisthesis at L4-5 (“Bilateral facet arthropathy with mild left neural foraminal stenosis) as degenerative facet disease can lead to a slip and a slip with foraminal stenosis can look less compressive than it really is. Have you had prior flexion/extension X-rays?

You are about 2 months out so things should be improving. Maybe ask for a course of oral steroid to take. Make sure you are not on NSAIDs (500 MG of Naproxen and 800 MG of Metaxalone).

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.

Qrkr0730
Participant

June 11, 2019 at 7:32 am

Post count: 10

#30555

I am confused. I am taking 500 MG if Naproxen and 800 MG of Metaxalone. Is this bad?

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

June 11, 2019 at 8:03 am

Post count: 8660

#30556

Not right now but if you take an oral steroid, you should not take Naproxen which is an NSAID while you are taking the steroid. I cut and pasted Metaxalone by error (Skelaxin). This is a muscle relaxant and not an issue while taking a corticosteroid.

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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