Surgery on L5 S1 after Months of Chronic Left Leg Pain

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Donald Corenman
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May 7, 2011 at 11:04 pm

Post count: 52

#4553

I had this surgery on L5 S1 after months of chronic left leg pain. Pain was gone and strength back in the leg after surgery but 2 weeks later some pain came back in left leg and then in my right leg. Another MRI shows no further herniation but some scar tissue. I am now nearly 4 months post op and still have pins and needles, muscle twitches and some pain in both legs. Doc says it’s nerve damage and may take up to a year to come right! Back feels fine though.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
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May 7, 2011 at 11:05 pm

Post count: 8660

#4554

You mention three symptoms- paresthesias (pins and needles), muscle twitches and pain in both legs. Let’s discuss what can happen to a nerve root with a disc herniation and go over each symptom separately.

When a nerve is compressed, as from a herniated disc, damage can occur to the nerve that is permanent. Remember that the nerve is really just a very long cell with the membrane of the cell conducting the signal. Pressure on these membranes from a disc herniation can stop the signal in terms of numbness or stimulate the signal in terms of pain sensation. If the nerve membrane was damaged by the herniation/compression- permanent pain and numbness can occur by blocking the signal or allowing the pain signal to be generated by a leaky membrane.

Most herniations do not cause permanent symptoms but some do. Symptoms of “pins and needles” can take up to six months to disappear after the discectomy and occasionally can be permanent. Most individuals can ignore these paresthesias as they subside. Nerves can continue to be “persnickety” and sensitive for up to two years.

Pain can continue if damage to the nerve occurred. Most times, the pain recedes over 6 months but again, some individuals can have chronic pain from nerve injury. If the pain does not improve and a new MRI reveals no compression (must look for other causes such as foraminal stenosis), the the patient has a chronic radiculopathy and needs pain management services.

Muscle twitching could be from an injury to the motor nerve. This would manifest as weakness (the foot is undependable or “flops when walking” or more difficulty with climbing or descending stairs. If you notice weakness or the physical examination reveals weakness, an EMG test can reveal if recovery is possible.

Hope this helps.

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.

Anonymous
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May 8, 2011 at 5:56 am

Post count: 8

#4555

Thankyou for your reply. Given that I had no Symptoms in my right leg pre op ( all symptoms were left side), I wondered if the nerve was damaged in surgery. I have been prescribed nortryptilene for my symptoms so will see if that helps. I have no obvious weakness in my legs so hopefully I will see an improvement over the next few months.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

May 8, 2011 at 10:30 pm

Post count: 8660

#4556

It is difficult to injure an opposite side nerve during surgery as it is not in the operative field and literally about 3/4 inch away. When under the microscope, that distance is the equivalent of about two miles away in the non-medical world. I guess that injury could happen but very unlikely.

Pain in the opposite side nerve could occur under three circumstances. One is a phenomenon called cross-over pain. The nerves in the opposite sides of the body eventually cross over in the spinal cord (you remember from high school that the left side of the brain takes care of the right side of the body). The cross-over or decussation allows the nerve to come in contact with each other. It is theorized that there is “cross-talk” between the nerves at this point.

The second possibility is that there is a small hematoma (collection of blood) in the canal that is causing temporary compression or even inflammation. If this is the case, most of the time this hematoma will resorb and not be a problem in the future.

The third but unlikely possibility is that there was a fragment of disc material that migrated across the canal or the discectomy caused some collapse of the disc height and there is some compression of the opposite nerve. This should also become quiet over time.

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.

Anonymous
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May 9, 2011 at 1:44 am

Post count: 8

#4557

That’s very reassuring. I look forward to a steady improvement. Thanks again.
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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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