Neck Pain possibly from c3-4

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Rivervadas
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February 22, 2022 at 3:50 pm

Post count: 26

#34858

Hi Dr. Corenman
I had surgery is September, disc replacement at c6-7.
About 2-3 months a go I started experiencing neck pain that seems to be coming from c3-4. The pain radiates up my neck and down into my shoulder. I recently got X-rays, MRI and Ct scan. The vertebral height is definitely much lower than the other discs.
The pain is constant and definitely interfering with my daily life.
My surgeon says either just post surgery healing I’m experiencing or c3-4 may need surgery.
Wondering if you think I may need another surgery/disc replacement.

Thank you

Here’s my CT scan report and MRI:

CT
INDICATION: Neck pain. Status post cervical arthroplasty at C6-7 with C3-4 degenerative changes.

COMPARISON/CORRELATION: MRI of the cervical spine 1/12/2022.

TECHNIQUE: Cervical spine CT was done with review of axial and reformatted sagittal and coronal images.

Dose parameters for this examination: number of acquisitions 1; maximum CTDI 7.7 mGy; DLP 194.7 mGy-cm

FINDINGS: Craniocervical alignment is normal. Vertebral body height and alignment are maintained. Postsurgical changes are seen at C6-7 with disc prosthesis in place and mild regional metallic streak artifact. There are multilevel degenerative changes at the nonsurgical levels including disc space narrowing, osteophytosis, facet arthropathy, and scattered Schmorl’s nodes, worst at the C3-4 level. Visualized soft tissues appear normal.

C2-3: Small posterior disc marginal osteophyte, uncinate spondylosis, and facet arthropathy. Mild left neural foraminal narrowing. No significant central stenosis.

C3-4: Circumferential disc osteophyte, uncinate spondylosis, and facet arthropathy. Moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. Mild central stenosis. The thecal sac measures 8 mm in AP dimension.

C4-5: Circumferential and right neural foraminal disc osteophyte, right uncinate spondylosis, and bilateral facet arthropathy. Moderate right and mild left neural foraminal narrowing. No significant central stenosis.

C5-6: Small posterior disc osteophyte, uncinate spondylosis, and facet arthropathy. Mild left neural foraminal narrowing. The thecal sac measures 9 mm in AP dimension.

C6-7: Metallic streak artifact limits some evaluation. Uncinate spondylosis and facet arthropathy. Mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. The thecal sac measures 9 mm in AP dimension.

C7-T1: Small posterior and right paracentral disc marginal osteophyte, uncinate spondylosis, and facet arthropathy. No significant central stenosis or foraminal narrowing.

MRI

FINDINGS: Disc prosthesis within the C6-7 disc space, with regional susceptibility artifact.

Craniocervical junction alignment is anatomic. Intact tentorial membrane, anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments. Normal alignment of cervical vertebral bodies with normal cervical vertebral body heights.

Disc desiccation and mild to moderate disc height loss in the remaining intervertebral discs, most severe at C3-4 level. Associated endplate degenerative signal changes.

Normal signal and appearance of cervical spinal cord. Limited visualization of the soft tissues of the neck demonstrate no gross abnormality.

On axial images:

C2-3: No significant central stenosis. Left facet arthrosis with mild left neural foraminal narrowing.

C3-4: Posterior disc osteophyte complex and bilateral uncinate spondylosis and mild left facet arthrosis. Slight narrowing of the spinal canal. Moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.

C4-5: No significant central stenosis. Mild bilateral facet arthrosis and right uncinate spondylosis. Mild right neural foraminal narrowing.

C5-6: Limited visualization due to susceptibility artifact. No gross evidence of significant spinal stenosis. Mild bilateral uncinate spondylosis and facet arthrosis with mild left neural foraminal narrowing.

C6-7: Limited visualization due to susceptibility artifact. Suggestion of moderate left neural foraminal narrowing.

C7-T1: Limited visualization due to susceptibility artifact. No gross evidence of significant central stenosis or foraminal narrowing. Mild left facet arthrosis.

Rivervadas
Participant

February 23, 2022 at 9:36 am

Post count: 26

#34865

Is there any indication from the CT or MRI scans coupled with my symptoms of mid neck pain radiating down to the shoulder that would suggest surgery?
Thanks
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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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