[trenee]

#30130

Document info
Result type: MRI Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast
Result date: Feb 04, 2019, 01:03 p.m.
Result status: authenticated

REPORT
MRI LUMBAR SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST

HISTORY: M47.816

COMPARISON: MRI of the lumbar spine 6/20/2017

INTRAVENOUS CONTRAST ADMINISTRATION: None

TECHNIQUE: MRI was performed of the lumbar spine without intravenous contrast.

FINDINGS:

Alignment of the lumbar spine is anatomic.

Bone marrow demonstrates normal signal characteristics.

The lumbar cord demonstrates normal morphology and signal characteristics. The
conus terminates at T12-L1.

L1-L2: There is no central canal or neuroforaminal stenosis.
L2-L3: Disc degeneration without central canal or neuroforaminal stenosis.

L3-L4: Disc degeneration small disc bulge which results in mild bilateral lateral recess
narrowing there is no central canal or neuroforaminal stenosis.

L4-5: Disc degeneration and broad-based disc bulge are present which results in mild to
moderate bilateral lateral recess narrowing there is no central canal or neuroforaminal
stenosis. There are hypertrophic changes of the facets.

L5-S1: Disc degeneration and a broad-based disc bulge are present. This results in
moderate left lateral recess narrowing and mild right and moderate to severe left neural
foraminal narrowing.

The included intra-abdominal contents are normal.

IMPRESSION:
1. Degenerative changes of the lumbar spine as described above. Of note, the bilateral
neural foraminal narrowing at L5-S1 has progressed compared with the previous exam.
Document info
Result type: MRI Spine Thoracic w/o Contrast
Result date: Jan 25, 2019, 12:35 p.m.
Result status: authenticated

REPORT
MRI of the thoracic spine

HISTORY: Left shoulder pain, thoracic spondylosis

TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar, multisequence imaging was performed of the thoracic spine
using 1.5 Tesla MRI.

FINDINGS: Postoperative changes noted incidentally in the cervical spine. Thoracic
spinal cord normal in signal. Thoracic spine normal in contour and alignment. No
fracture or subluxation identified. Paravertebral soft tissues unremarkable.

T8-9: Mild disc height loss and small disc bulge at T8-9 without spinal stenosis or
foraminal narrowing. Borderline mild bilateral lateral recess narrowing

T9-10: Mild disc height loss and small disc bulge at T9-T10 with mild degenerative facet
hypertrophy causing mild to moderate bilateral lateral recess narrowing and foraminal
narrowing. No spinal stenosis.

T10-11: Mild disc height loss and mild degenerative facet hypertrophy with minimal disc
bulge causing borderline mild bilateral lateral recess narrowing and foraminal narrowing.
Remainder of thoracic disc levels are within normal limits.

IMPRESSION:
1. Degenerative changes at T8-9, T9-10 and T10-11 with lateral recess narrowing and
foraminal narrowing as described in detail above.
2. Postoperative changes of cervical spine noted incidentally.
Document info
Result type: XR Spine Cervical 2 or 3 Views
Result date: Dec 06, 2018, 02:05 p.m.
Result status: authenticated
Performed by: Lindsi Laster
Verified by: Steven Holman
Modified by: Steven Holman
Accession number: 00008XR20180021890
XR Spine Cervical 2 or 3 Views
Patient: TAMMY
WILLCOCKSON DOB: Aug 23, 1968
REPORT
DIAGNOSIS: CERVICAL SPONDYLOSIS

Procedure: Cervical spine 2 views

Lordotic curvature is straightened. Slight anterolisthesis of C2 on C3 is unchanged from
11/1/2018. Degenerative changes are present about the facet joints, no fractures are
identified and findings are physiologic. Prevertebral soft tissues are normal. Anterior
cervical discectomies have been performed at C3-4 through C6-7 with placement of
anterior plate, screws, and bone grafts. Ankylosis is present at C4-5 through C6-7.
Spurring and narrowing are present about the joints of Luschka bilaterally.

IMPRESSION:
1. Anterior cervical discectomies at C3-4 through C6-7.
2. Physiologic anterolisthesis of C2 on C3.

Tammy Willcockson

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#30134

You have multilevel lumbar degenerative disc disease and “L4-5 mild to moderate bilateral lateral recess narrowing…L5-S1: Disc degeneration and a broad-based disc bulge are present. This results in moderate left lateral recess narrowing and mild right and moderate to severe left neural foraminal narrowing”.

You have had ACDFs (fusions) of C3-7 with degeneration of C2-3 facets (degenerative spondylolisthesis). There is no comment about foraminal stenosis which is unusual for a radiological report. This radiologist is tricky as he or she notes “Ankylosis is present at C4-5 through C6-7” which implies that C3-4 is not solid (pseudoarthrosis).

You have degeneration of T8-11 which probably indicates Scheuermann’s disorder.

The real problem with this thread is that MRIs do not live in a vacuum. What are your 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.

[trenee]

#30149

MRI’S/XRAY’S/CT SCAN
POST OP ACDF #3 10/18

Dr Coreman, 

First let me say THANK YOU for responding to my request so quickly. I wasn’t sure if you  would respond back because of past experiences with other forum’s that offered to read (review) test results & help make some kind of sense out of them for those of us who don’t understand then. I never got any response back from them but I was reading all the awesome and informative stuff on your site/forum and I decided to try one more time. I’m very glad I did. Thank you again!

I’d like to give you a very brief history on my situation just so you know how my nightmare began. July 2 , 2015 i went to sleep and woke up paralyzed from the waste down on my right side. I didn’t injure myself in anyway so it didn’t happen as a result of trauma. 

In 2001 & 2003 the same thing happened to me and both times it ended up taking surgery to fix it. The Dr was a Orthopedic Surgeon and both times he did a Discectomy. I regained use and feeling in my legs and feet and besides hurting off and on over the years I did ok…. Until July 2, 2015. I new I was in trouble and didn’t want to go to the ER right away because I was hoping that maybe I slept wrong and it had caused the total numbness on my right side. The next morning my left side went numb and I had no feeling AT ALL from my waist down on BOTH SIDES NOW. I also lost control of my bladder and bowls so I went to the ER. I tried to explaine that I had the same thing happen twice already and back surgery fixed me but the Neurosurgeon on duty didn’t seem to think I was right. After all the CT scans, MRI scans with and without contrast he decided I needed emergency neck surgery because a couple disc were bulging and compressing my CERVICAL spine. 

After the ACDF I had a DVT in my leg and a PE in my lung. About 2 weeks later ( still in the hospital ) I started getting a little feeling back on my right side but no change on the left side. 120 days in the hospital and 4 weeks of inpatient PT I had to learn to walk again I finally went home. I’ve NEVER gotten any better only worse and I still have no feeling from the knee down including my foot. So almost 4 years later I still have left foot drop. I have to wear a brace on my left leg which helps me walk. 

I have server muscle cramps in my calves, I have burning in my right foot, left foot ice cold. I have swelling directly on the spot my DVT was and also redness that gets worse when I walk around more than 15 mins. I have pain down the back side of both calf’s that is a sharp/burning pain with each step I take. On the insides of both thighs it gets red sometimes and it feels hot to the touch. Pain in my lower back right around the tail bone and radiates down my butt cheek ( left side ). Sever burning pain on the back side of my right bicept . Weakness in both arms and wrist. All the joints on my fingers hurt real bad and are having swelling  on each joint. The palms of my hands have these hard knots in them below the pinky and ring fingers. The knuckles on the top of my hands are always very red and movement of my wrist will cause extreme burning of those knuckle and on top of both wrist! Pain mostly on the left side of my neck AND shoulder. The pain is constant and I hear it cracking with hardly any movement. It sounds like the noise a bag of chips make if you were to squeeze it. I have these random pains in the back of my neck as if i was zapped real fast with electricity. I have a large lump on the left side of my neck and shoulder. The pain is now moving into the front side of my left bicept. I can only lift my arm up like half way and the pain is too bad to raise any hirer. The appearance of my neck if I’m facing forward is not normal looking at all. It’s swollen and lumpy looking only on the left side. Can hardly eat or drink without choking because I have a hard time swollowing food or drink. I have anxiety and panic attacks. Daily Depression , weight gain. Pain level is never under a 8 or 9 on a pain scale. I’m sure there is more I’m forgetting but I’m sure you are tired of reading it lol. 

What treatment options I do I have to choose from with everything I got going on. 

PLEASE RESPOND BACK AGAIN. Hopefully I haven’t scared you off. I got a call from the doctors office yesterday from the nurse. She said the doctor had read all my results and findings and wanted to let me know there isn’t anything that needed to be done at this time? I have some Post OP issues going on that I’ve never had before and I’m in so much pain. Would welcome any advice you have for me Dr.

Tammy Willcockson

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#30158

Your history: “I had no feeling AT ALL from my waist down on BOTH SIDES NOW. I also lost control of my bladder and bowls so I went to the ER…needed emergency neck surgery because a couple disc were bulging and compressing my CERVICAL spine. After the ACDF I had a DVT in my leg and a PE in my lung. About 2 weeks later (still in the hospital ) I started getting a little feeling back on my right side but no change on the left side…120 days in the hospital and 4 weeks of inpatient PT I had to learn to walk again I finally went home. I’ve NEVER gotten any better only worse and I still have no feeling from the knee down including my foot. So almost 4 years later I still have left foot drop. I have to wear a brace on my left leg which helps me walk”.

You had a spinal cord injury in your neck based upon your history. I assume this was due to canal narrowing due to bone spur or herniation that was corrected by the ACDF neck surgery. You have had lumbar degenerative problems as noted by your prior microdiscectomies in your lower back. I will need your current MRI results of the cervical spine to make more sense of your 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.

[trenee]

#30164

Dr i have been looking thru my patient portal that i get all my test results sent and I’m not finding a MRI that ive had after this last ACDF. He only ordered me to get a xray each time i went to see him post op. Each visit i would tell him that my symptoms had not gotten any Better in fact some are worse and i had some issues i didn’t ever have before. Then i showed him my shoulder and the front part of my chest. My left shoulder had (and still do)a lump a little bigger than a golf ball. My chest directly below my neck is swollen . He said it was muscle spasms and says it will go away. On my 8 week post op visit he asked how i was feeling and i told him that the only
change there was my pain had increased and i had extreme pain now in my left shoulder. Then he asked when was the last time he had done a MRI of my lower back.I said it had been a while so that’s when he ordered MRI’s on my thoracic region and mu lumbar region. He didn’t order anything on my neck for some reason. I’m sending you the CT scan that is most current. I hope this will help. This last Friday he called and asked me to go up to his office to talk. He informed me that i need surgrey on my lower back because the MRI showed a broad based disc bulging compromising my spine. He dont explain anything even if i ask a question. He didnt say what he would do in surgrey to fix it or explain what t this has to do with my neck. Dr my hands a wrist on both left and right burn so bad if i move them. The knuckles on the top of my hands are really red and stay red. Its so hard to even make a fist because my fingers don’t want to bend. Also the top of my forearms have red blotches on them. The left side of my face , my cheeks starts to tingle. It feels like the tingling feeling is going in a circle? I know that sounds crazy its just hard to explain.

Result type: CT Spine Cervical w/o Contrast
Result date: Oct 05, 2018, 03:22 p.m.
Result status: authenticated
Performed by: Marceia Shelley
Verified by: Brett Barker
Modified by: Brett Barker
Accession number: 00008CT20180007500
CT Spine Cervical w/o Contrast
Patient: TAMMY
WILLCOCKSON DOB: Aug 23, 1968
REPORT
CT OF THE CERVICAL SPINE WITHOUT INTRAVENOUS CONTRAST MEDIA

HISTORY:
PAIN PAIN

TECHNIQUE:
A helical dataset was obtained through the cervical spine. Images are reconstructed into
axial series. Sagittal and coronal reformations are provided. Dose reduction techniques
were utilized

INTRAVENOUS CONTRAST ADMINISTRATION: No IV contrast administered

DOSE REPORT:
Total DLP (Survey+Helical): 284.5 mGy*cm

COMPARISON: CT of the cervical spine 2/23/2017 MRI of the cervical spine 8/29/2018

FINDINGS:
There are postoperative changes of C4-C7 ACDF. The hardware appears intact and
fully engaged. There is no finding of periprosthetic lucency.

Tammy Willcockson

[trenee]

#30167

LAST MRI ON CERVICAL SPINE
AUG 29.2018 12 weeks post op from ACDF #2 (5/15/18)
2 months BEFORE ACDF #3 (10/12/18)

Document info
Result type: MRI Spine Cervical w/o Contrast
Result date: Aug 29, 2018, 03:25 p.m.
Result status: authenticated
Performed by: Charla Carter
Verified by: Douglas Trippe
Modified by: Douglas Trippe
Accession number: 00008MR20180002530
MRI Spine Cervical w/o Contrast
Patient: TAMMY
WILLCOCKSON DOB: Aug 23, 1968
REPORT
REASON FOR EXAM: Previous multilevel ACDF, neck pain with bilateral arm pain

TECHNIQUE: Multisequence, multiplanar MR images were obtained of the cervical
spine. Examination is compared to previous of 8/18/2017.

FINDINGS: Postoperative changes are noted status post C4-5, C5-6, and C6-7 ACDF.
There is moderately advanced DDD at C3-4. Each level will be detailed in the
impression. No Chiari malformation. Cord shows no edema or gliosis. No fracture,
subluxation, or prevertebral soft tissue edema.

IMPRESSION:
1. C1-2: Mild preodontoid arthritic change.
2. C2-3: Disc is unremarkable. Mild right with moderate left facet arthrosis. Canal and
foramina are patent.
3. C3-4: Moderate DDD with loss of disc height. Broad posterior spurring and
uncovertebral hypertrophy at the L4 mild spinal stenosis with moderate bilateral lateral
recess stenosis. Findings show mild progression compared to the prior study.
4. C4-5, C5-6, C6-7: Remote ACDF with out evidence of disc protrusion or spinal
stenosis. Facet and uncovertebral hypertrophy allow for mild multilevel foraminal
narrowing. No change.
5. C7-T1: Mild DDD. Mild facet arthrosis. Now and foramina are patent. No change.

Tammy Willcockson

[Author]

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