Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

Participant

September 11, 2016 at 10:35 am

Post count: 51

#22950

Dr. Corenman,

This is the list called (Name Of Procedure) from my surgical report. The indications were the severe chest pain, and disc protrusion causing it, after 2 years of cardiac, GI, and lung tests.

1. T4 laminopslsty with decompression of the spinal cord, nerve roots, including medial facetectomies and foraminotomies.

2. T5 with decompression of the spinal cord, nerve roots, including medial facetectomies and foraminotomies.

3. Microsurgical intradural exploration.

4. Resection of the T4-T5 herniated nucleus pulposus.

5. Usage of operative microscope for microdissection.

6. Usage of fluoroscopy.

7. Complex surgery.

Upon review of the recent MRI, my pain doctor will not work on the T4-T5, as I mentioned. He said he felt I would not get any relief from treatments, he was concerned with the swelling still going. I did confirm it was not fluid build up with the surgeon who did the surgery a 4 months back. They said it was damaged tissue, and the finding was worsened, yet the hygroma was resolved. I came out of this surgery with the severe chest pain, it was very severe after surgery, so I knew they hit on the right spot. The chest pain then went to off and on. Now it has returned to being constant. The new back pain is very severe, and goes from both left to right. It feels like a sword going through me. I mentioned in a earlier thread that the surgery began at the wrong level. It was then closed up, and done at the correct level. Only the incision was made, not a surgery on the lower level. Still, this had to put pressure on the balance of the surgery.

I’m concerned that the radiologist thinks there is a fusion in this last report. Its been 8 months since surgery, and my condition feels worse, I took the risk, because my chest was so very bad. I never had the severe back pain, until after the surgery, along with the right leg being on fire 24/7. I did find a video about myelomalacia, by a Ken McKim talking about the condition, it all seems very serious in nature… explained by this video. There is just not a lot of information out there. I do hope it will one day improve, but at this point it causes pain to be active, and it would be near impossible to do any type of work, even part time. The one time I do feel relief is in the pool.

I am seeking a second opinion, but finding anyone who works on the thoracic spine is a challenge. My concern is how I explain this to a normal doctor at this point. I don’t even understand what is going on in my spine, I only know this pain is extremely hard to cope with on a daily basis.

Perhaps the surgery notes above will help shed some light on the findings in the MRI I posted. I feel like I’m having a 24/7 heart attack Dr. Corenman, I have been this way for just over 4 years now. The new back pain, I guess that is the risk we take with any surgery. The overall outcome is devastating as a single father. I feel helpless against this cord damage, and what appears to be very difficult to fix at this point.

Thanks again Dr. Corenman, I’m truly grateful for your time. I see a doctor for disability soon. I have had all my doctors compassion for my claim. I can only pray he has some understanding of the spine, and will understand this condition.

Jboz

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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