Pinched nerve & now extreme pain

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acura234
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December 28, 2011 at 5:25 pm

Post count: 2

#5265

Back in Nov. 2008 in over the course of less than one week i developed severe numbness & tingling in my legs from my groin area down to my toes. Shortly after i had little to no control of my legs so my GP sent me to a neurology specialist. After a short exam he called a neurosurgeon at the University Hospital here in London Ont. Canada. The surgeon Dr. Neil Duggal said i must get to the hospital immediately or i would loose my bowel & bladder control.

FF to hospital after several x-rays & MRI’s i was told my spinal cord was being pinched in my lower back, somewhere up from my waist. However he couldn’t tell from the tests exactly the spot, nothing stood out in the MRI’s so he would have to go in the most likely spot based on my symptoms. He said he would know more once he opened me up. This is all based on what i remember being told. Surgery done said he scraped some fatty deposits off a few spots & bone spurs he would be running tests on what he found. Seemed like legs were better but not perfect. Was discharged & incision was healing ok.
FF about a week, numbness & tingling returns & moves up to my chest. More MRI’s but still nothing stands out, he says that’s very unusual once again will have to go in to see. He goes in from between my shoulder blades up to C2 if i remember correctly. Note, before all this i was diagnosed with Ancylosing Spondalitus several yrs. before in my neck, limited mobility. Surgeon does a cervical laminectomy to relieve pressure on spinal cord. After it seems to have corrected problem only now the incision will not stop draining. It continues for about 2 days draining so he says he must open it up to see why. After he can’t find the problem & was no infection. By this time it’s no longer going to close up so they start packing it off & then must start using Vac Unit.
I went home with Vac & had PSW come in 3x week to clean & re-pack. The hole between shoulder blades just bellow my neck was 3cm. deep 4cm. wide.
to start off, took about 5 months to heal as far as it would. My biggest issue has been since about one month after discharge until now 2yrs later present day, no proper feeling from bottom of shoulder blades up to shoulders & back of neck. Also severe throbbing pain like pressure never stops & now numbness going down R. arm to elbow. I take 6 Oxycodone 10mg. per day & an anti-inflammatory. No one can explain this pain i have, has destroyed my quality of life. Sorry for length of message.
Steve

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

December 28, 2011 at 11:28 pm

Post count: 8660

#5268

I am sure that there was more said than what you understood. With ankylosing spondylitis, this disease process creates an auto fusion of the spine and can fuse the spine all the way up to the head in some cases. The spine can fuse in a deformed position and cause pressure on the cord or can occasionally fracture with the resulting hematoma (blood pooling) causing cord compression.

The inability of the incision to heal could be from an infection or from the body’s inability to mount a thorough healing response. The vac unit is the appropriate way to induce a wound like this to heal. The numbness in the shoulder and the pain in the arm can be from residual symptoms from the previous cord compression or symptoms from a compressed nerve in the neck.

A new MRI of the neck may help spot if a cervical nerve is compressed. A selective nerve root block may then diagnose what nerve is involved. Temporary relief of the arm pain may indicate that decompression of the nerve may give relief. Understand however that relief only identifies the nerve involved and does not rule out chronic radiculopathy (see website for that description).

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.

acura234
Member

December 29, 2011 at 1:59 am

Post count: 2

#5271

So your opinion is the ankylosing spondylitis is what caused all my problems & there’s still a nerve being pinched in my neck which is causing all my pain.
Thank you very much for your time & advice

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

December 29, 2011 at 4:20 am

Post count: 8660

#5272

You have misunderstood me. I can tell you what disorders ankylosing spondylosis can cause but not in your particular case what happened. I have seen other individuals with AS have the problems I have mentioned but it may or may not apply in your case.

The pain in your arm may be from a compressed nerve in your neck as one of the potential causes. You need a skilled spine surgeon to make any diagnosis and determine treatment.

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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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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