Spondylolisthesis level 1 and spinal cyst

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Adoniev
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January 8, 2015 at 1:09 am

Post count: 2

#11949

Dear Doctor Corenman,

I have a 6mm anterolisthesis corresponding to a grade 1 moderate bilateral spondy on L5-S1. The rest of the canal is ample and there is no other fracture.

I also have a posterior extraspinal synovial cyst associated with the posteromedial left facet joint. The listhesis results in deformity of both neural foramina. The left is ample meanwhile the right is narrowed but there is no high grade L5 nerve compression. There is some narrowing of the right foramen.

These are words from my MRI report.

With this assessment I do feel pretty bad in my day-to-day: I always have pain in my lower back, tingling sensations and burning sensations escalate down my legs. I lost at least 30% of the feeling in my legs. My energy level is affected greatly and my concentration as well.

I saw some doctors one recommended a fusion, the other two recommended to wait another 10 years before considering an operation. I took some injections one time and I felt tremendous relief but only for about 3 weeks. I heard the more you do them the longer the effect but they do have adverse effects if taken too often so I limited to taking them twice a year.

I am considering surgery or anything that can get me my life back to 100%. What would you recommend from seeing this ? Are minimally invasive options available ?

I truly appreciate your precious time doctor Corenman and I wish you a happy new year 2015.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 8, 2015 at 4:33 am

Post count: 8660

#11950

You do not note what type of spondylolisthesis you have (isthmic vs. degenerative-see website) and normally the L5-S1 level is an isthmic slip. However, ganglion cysts are associated with a degenerative slip so I will assume this is a degenerative spondylolisthesis.

If you have leg pain and lower back pain along with losing “30% of the feeling in my legs”, I would assume you would be a good surgical candidate. See the section “when to have lower back surgery” to understand this concept.

“Minimally invasive” spine surgery is a misnomer and a marketing ploy. 50% of the spine surgeries I do are revision surgeries (surgery to repair a pervious failed spine surgery) and most of these are repair of “minimally invasive” surgeries.

Find a well experienced spine surgeon who is meticulous and you should be happy. You can read the section “Questions to ask your spine surgeon”.

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.

Adoniev
Member

January 8, 2015 at 5:31 am

Post count: 2

#11954

Thank you very much doctor for such a prompt reply I wasn’t expecting this at all.

My MRI doesn’t say if it’s an isthmic spondy or degenerative but I did start having pain in my back because I was a boxer before and took an illegal blow to the lower back. Consequently, I had to quit boxing and start a different lifestyle. I am leaning towards saying that I have an isthmic spondy because I was diagnosed at 25, I am now 28, and I had pain in my back from time to time when I was younger. How do you view the difference between both in terms of the retaliatory actions needed to be taken ?

Do you think a foraminatomy could be effective in my case or would you say fusion is the only way to go ? When does one get one over the other ?

Could you elaborate a bit on these synovial cysts ? How are they created ? Why ? How can they be removed and what are the effects of removing them ?

Thank you doctor,

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 9, 2015 at 10:46 pm

Post count: 8660

#11961

A synovial cyst typically occurs from a degenerative facet. The synovium is the lining of the joint that produces synovial fluid, the fluid that bathes the joint. When the joint becomes degenerative, the capsule (the tough outer bag that holds the joint together) can tear and the lining of the joint, the synovium, can pouch out.

This synovium does what it is suppose to do, produce fluid. Since there is no structure(the capsule) to control the amount of fluid produced, this pouch goes about its business producing fluid. This creates a cyst and this cyst can compress the nerve.

With a slip present, a foraminotomy is typically ineffective to decompress the nerve. A fusion is normally required to decompress the nerve and stabilize the level.

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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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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