potts spine

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vkas.stha
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August 31, 2013 at 1:21 pm

Post count: 12

#9299

hello doctor. I am Bikash From NEpal. I have been passed through the surgery of back in the spine called L2 and L3. At there my bones# were in destructive condition and there was poss abscess too so doctor Basanta Pant one of the head surgeon suggested to have surgery so i did my surgery before 2 months and taking TB medicine also. I want to know that when my back pain totally goes out and i will be normal since i m getting my back pain and my legs are not getting full strength while walking so doctor i want to knw that i will be cured or not i m only 23 so plz do help me. Sincerely, Bikash Shrestha.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 31, 2013 at 4:40 pm

Post count: 8660

#9300

Pott’s disease is Tuberculosis of the spine. This bacteria can slowly break down the bone causing the spine to collapse. Of course, the spinal cord and nerves travel through the spine so any change in stability of the spine will affect these nervous structures.

Apparently, from your report you have had involvement of L2-3. It is never good to have TB of the spine but if TB occurs, this is one of the better areas to have involved. The nerves located here are for the most part, peripheral nerves which means that these nerves are more resistant to injury and can “bounce back” or recover if injured.

You need to take these TB drugs until this organism is eradicated from your body. This could take a year or longer. Not taking the drugs can allow the TB to recur and become resistant to the antibiotics.

As long as the spine has been surgically reconstructed and the nerves are no longer under pressure, there is a reasonable chance that you will get some leg strength to return. This can take however as much as a year.

Be patient, exercise your legs and make sure you take your antibiotics on schedule.

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.

vkas.stha
Member

August 31, 2013 at 6:21 pm

Post count: 12

#9307

thank you Doctor for your kind information and help…i will ask for your help again in upcoming days,,,, Thank you…Sincerely Bikash Shrestha

vkas.stha
Member

September 1, 2013 at 12:53 pm

Post count: 12

#9311

Hello Dr.corenam, I recently got my MRI and it was found that the approx 4.0*3.5*2.5cm size collection seen in right psoas abscess. At before test of MRI at operation time it was found aaprox 11.0*4.5*5.0 cm size of psoas abscess was noted. Now, after examining the latest report Dr pant said that there is not possible to take out the psoas abscess and he too concluded that this abscess will be eliminated by the tb drugs. and TB consultant has provided me two types of tb drugs 1. Ethambutol 1200 mg and 2. Isoniazid 300 mg. I was provided with these drugs lately because my liver was infected so the TB doctor forwarded me with this drugs. He said to have these drugs fcor 1 and half years. I think these drugs can make me well, isn’t it, sir? Will that poaas abscess will be eliminated by the these drugs? Plz do help me sir i am really worried due to the formation of psos abscess again. Sincerely. Bikash Shrestha.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

September 1, 2013 at 11:30 pm

Post count: 8660

#9312

Psoas abscesses are common with TB infections of the spine. The medications should eradicate the abscess. I cannot tell you what antibiotics are used for TB eradication as this bacterial organism develops resistance and the medications therefore differ from country to country and person to person.

If you are on the right medications, it takes from one to one and one half years to be cured.

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.

vkas.stha
Member

September 2, 2013 at 10:17 am

Post count: 12

#9320

Really thankyou for your kindness DR.Corenman. Your information Has really helped me to get the further inforamtion from my surgeon. Sincerely, Bikash Shrestha
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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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