Testimonials Spine Surgeon Vail Denver Colorado

Dear Dr. Corenman,

“In recent years I have heard patients marvel at your work, concern, understanding and overall ‘bedside manner’. However, until a patient experiences firsthand how true this is, it is difficult to believe a doctor can be all of this. My surgery has made me a true believer that you are all of the above and more. I cannot thank you enough for the treatment I received and better yet, how much better my back feels only days after surgery. Your entire staff has been incredibly professional which is a reflection on your ability and desire to have the best team there is. Not only are you a remarkable doctor, you are a fun guy to be around—a rare quality today.”

Joel S., Aspen, CO

“Dr. Corenman, thank you so much for giving me my life back. When I came into your office for the first time, I was so desperate with pain and felt as if my body was failing me. But only after moments of speaking with you, I had huge hope. Right then my healing began. Thank you for your wonderful expertise and knowledge. Thank you for your kind and compassionate way. Thank you for your time and caring. I’m a very humble patient and I so appreciate you.”

Sindie P.

“I am writing this letter to express my sincere and grateful appreciation for the excellent care I received from you, your staff and The Vail Valley Medical Center. You were the sixth physician that I saw regarding what began as right hip pain over two years ago and further developed into leg/foot numbness and additional lower buttocks and leg pain. While my diagnosis was not complex and was agreed upon by all the physicians I’ve seen, I wanted the best surgeon to do my surgery and you came highly recommended. Your office staff is professional, knowledgeable, confident, were able to explain my medical conditions and were able to specifically answer all of my questions. I have had more than a dozen orthopedic surgeries (knees, ankle, shoulder) and have been cared for by many doctors in at least six hospitals. I can say that my care from you and the Vail Valley Medical Center was simply legendary. I want to thank you for running an outstanding practice and providing me such incredible care. I am still early in my surgical recover, but I have experienced no hop or leg pain! I could not be happier.”

Kenneth L., Estes Park, CO

“On my last visit with Dr. Corenman, he gave me the biggest hug and it was the highlight of my life. I had been through hell and back and I feel like he was my angel and brought me back to life. People don’t understand when you try to explain to them what chronic back pain is like. To come out of what I did was a miraculous thing. I have sent so many people to Dr. Corenman because he is the best in the field. I would travel miles and miles to see him again.”

Liz R., Boulder, CO

“I just wanted to say thank you for all that you have done for me. I saw many doctors in the Southeast before seeing you. They all said the same thing — that I was a hopeless case and that I would just have to live with it (my condition). I had gotten to the point where I was pretty much going to give up. You’ve not only restored my hope, but I am now confident I will get my life back. You are an amazing surgeon and you have an amazing staff. I have had 10 surgeries in the last 15 years and I’ve never come close to having the level of care I experienced with you and your staff. In my line of work, I meet people suffering from back problems nearly every day. I will recommend you to every single one of them I meet. I’m not a pro athlete or a star by any means, but I felt that I was treated like one. Thank you so much for saving my life, and probably my marriage too. I will never forget the experience.”

Jason A.

“Dear Dr. Corenman, I wanted to give you an update regarding my back following the surgery you performed in April of 2010. A year after my surgery, I’m playing golf and feel great. I am very thankful for the conservative approach you took with my spine. Since the surgery, I have never experienced any pain in my right hip, or numbness in my left foot. As I explained to you last year, I never took any pain medication after I left the recovery room. I continue to try and strengthen my stomach and back muscles and I am continuing to improve. I am playing golf and am also playing on a senior softball team. I have not felt any weakness, instability or pain. I thank you so much. Eric and your staff were wonderful and made my quality of life bettter. I have and will continue to recommend friends to your office.”

Ken G. L.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Average rating:

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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