Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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Deepcove22
Member

March 5, 2013 at 3:28 am

Post count: 14

in reply to: spondylolisthesis #8130

Hello Dr. Corenman,
I had to order and pay for my films. You should have them by now, although they will be under my name and not my forum user name.
My initals are LR and I am from Vancouver, Canada.
Thank you again, LR

Deepcove22
Member

January 28, 2013 at 1:35 pm

Post count: 14

in reply to: spondylolisthesis #7843

Hello,
I had brief (1 hour) decrease in leg burning pain post injection along with muscle weakness. The usual burning I feel is icy…dry ice..like standing in a river in winter. When I was injected, on that side my leg went warm for a few seconds.

Since then, the leg pain is usual intensity and location pre-injection. I have increased back pain and new onset sciatica ( activated during injection). This is 3 days after injection day.

I am not usually able to replicate pain with a movement. I am always in pain. When I walk or stand I will feel increased pain or sometimes delayed by a hour. I wake in pain. But I know what helps: sitting if I have been walking, lying down if I have been sitting. Driving is painful

Squatting and TENS machine relieves back pain and traction and ice reduce leg pain. Traction can reduce leg pain and make back pain worse. My physio says this is a goal.

There is usually a “hot spot” to touch over about L4-5 and ice helps.

So, summary, I am worse than I was pre-injection

Thank you from Vancouver

Deepcove22
Member

January 26, 2013 at 9:52 am

Post count: 14

in reply to: spondylolisthesis #7814

Hello again. I am working on obtaining the films for you.

I have some more information after having a facet block yesterday. Apparently L5-S1 is solid but 12mm out of position…stable though. And my facet joints are in bad shape at L4-5. I was injected with steroid and anaesthetic yesterday and no change in back or leg pain yet, but it is too soon. MRI and surgical f/u next month. Thanks again, from Vancouver.

Deepcove22
Member

January 19, 2013 at 12:19 am

Post count: 14

in reply to: spondylolisthesis #7775

Thank you. I recognize this is a generous offer and will set this up next week when the office is re-open.

Deepcove22
Member

January 18, 2013 at 4:28 pm

Post count: 14

in reply to: spondylolisthesis #7772

Thank you. It is a relief to know the CT was done correctly in terms of positioning.
Do you think a facet or nerve block would help? I have had a request for one in Radiology for 3months now and I am waiting to be booked.

The level of pain I have had for 5 months is between 5-8. I wake up and go to sleep with it. I am working reduced hours (I have MS already so this is ongoing) and when I am done (I am a nurse) my pain is an 8. I am taking copious opiods including morphine, zopiclone, ativan and tizadem….and writing to you at 130 am as they are ineffective.

For reference, childbirth, kidney stone, eye injury and knee fracture were all 10’s for me.

It seems too long to be in this level of pain and it is affecting my enjoyment of life, my family relationships and their moods and my outlook on life. I really am at a loss as what to do next.

Deepcove22
Member

January 18, 2013 at 12:21 am

Post count: 14

in reply to: spondylolisthesis #7769

Thank you. This is helpful to incorporate into my knowledge.

When I had the CT scan I was not flat on my back as it hurt too much. So, I put my legs up on a large bolster. This put my spine in a neutral position flat on the table, instead of rounded.

Does position in the CT or MRI machine affect the visualization and accuracy of the pictures?
In another way: If there is non-fusion causing the pain and I put my spine into a position that does not hurt, can you still see the non-fusion?
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Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 12 total)

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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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Deepcove22

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