Prodisc C failure

Tagged: Cord injury with an ADR (cervical artificial disc replacement).

Viewing 6 posts - 7 through 12 (of 15 total)

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Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

July 21, 2016 at 6:14 am

Post count: 8660

#22639

Could you please send me the X-rays and MRIs (and CT scans if available). This would be helpful to understand stress failure biomechanics of this type of device.

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.

lightfoot
Participant

February 9, 2017 at 4:17 am

Post count: 3

#24304

LALange61 wrote:

It happened to me. Luckily, it was fixed after 2 long, intense surgeries. Unfortunately, no one is interested in hearing my story, even if it means it could save others.

My vertebrae between the 2 produsc c was completely crushed. These are very dangerous devices to be using “off label”.

I have a very remarkable xray of wgat can and will happen.

Hi, LALange61, this has happened to me too. Still waiting for tests done to see what can be done. Would be very interested in hearing your story and experience. At this point, I’m quite worried as it is quite sunk in and no bone above the moved part of the disc on the xray.
Thanks for the info and hope all is well now

LALange61
Participant

February 9, 2017 at 6:50 am

Post count: 4

#24305

I am so very sorry to hear this. I’m not a doctor but I’m hoping whoever is treating you has you in a hard cervical collar until they decide you course of treatment. Luckily I was seen by a neurosurgeon and he literally saved me. I’m not over exaggerating, I was one sneeze away from paralysis.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. Best of luck to you and I will keep you in my prayers.

Lisa

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

February 9, 2017 at 9:58 am

Post count: 8660

#24307

If any of you have images that you would like to share with this disorder, please feel free to forward them to me. I am interested in the failure mechanism of these devices and there is not enough information out there to be informed. There, of course, would be no charge for this image review.

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.

LALange61
Participant

February 9, 2017 at 12:00 pm

Post count: 4

#24310

I have x-rays, cat scans and MRIs (keep in mind that particular material left a blind spot on the MRI). I can’t copy and paste in this forum but feel free to contact me at either [email protected] or [email protected] I think you will find the images interesting to say the least. I also have the images of the “fix” done on my neck.

Lisa

lightfoot
Participant

February 10, 2017 at 4:33 am

Post count: 3

#24314

Hi Lisa, thank you for your reply. To tell you the truth, I am very concerned and worried. I started having problems again last year and went to casualties. (I currently live in the UK), they took an x-ray and told me my implants were perfect and to take Paracetamol! I insisted in being referred to a neurosurgeon and it has taken almost a year to see him as they didn’t consider my case urgent. I didn’t expect him to tell me the implant had sunk in and displaced and there is little bone above,and this Xray is from last year, the same one they told me in casualties that was perfect. It they would have shown me, I would have known it was displaced, it is so obvious, the top part if forward and the bottom bit is toward the spine, very sunk in and there is a big difference of bone between the old xrays I have and this one. It is so scary. He wants to do an MRI to check if the upper levels are affected and if we can’t see clearly, he will do a CAT scan. I do not have the recent Xrays as the hospital in NHS doesn’t provide you with them. I am considering having them done private with my insurance. You can take pictures of your scans and Xrays to email Dr. Coreman. I have my Xray on my phone like that in case I have to show a doctor what I’ve got in there!

Dr. Coreman, thanks so much for your help and interest. As I mentioned, I don’t have them yet but I am willing to send you the images for your study if this can help people and further cases. I had a wing-cage in C6-C7 in FEB 2005 and a Synthes Prodis-c 6mm in December 2005. So my Arthopasty is almost twelve years and failed at the 10 point, when I stared getting issues. I had the surgery after a car accident because I had paralysis. After the surgeries I had a full recovery from the paralysis but was left with a radiculopathy c7 and occasional pain.
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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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