Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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Holger
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November 7, 2013 at 1:50 am

Post count: 16

in reply to: Pending extensive neck surgery :-( #9765

Here is my post-op update.
First and foremost, I’m very glad it’s over!! In all it was a very significant experience as I had other surgeries before. As I am writing this I am wearing a neck collar as instructed 24/7. Honestly, I feel that my neck is much more secure with it and now I feel “weird” and unstable without it. My first initial surgery on October 15, which took six hours, included a vertebrectomy of two vertebrae with a multi-level anterior and posterior cervical fusion. To me, I think of it “simply” as a anterior removal of two vertebrae that is then stabilized with a Harm’s Mesh oval cylinder compacted with my own bones and a titanium plate that is fixated on the remaining vertebrae in addition to two titanium rods that are implanted posterior along my cervical spine. My surgeon also informed me that he had to use allograft to reconstruct my posterior spine. My second surgery on October 22 lasted one hour and was performed due to a MRSE infection that included a re-opening of my 15 cm posterior incision in order to clean it out. Currently I am still treating this infection with vancomycin 1gm 2/day intravenously and Rifampin orally 1/day. I am still extremely hoarse and I need twice the amount of air to speak which is tiring. My original hospital stay was estimated at a maximum at four days. However, I spent total of thirteen days in the original hospital and five days in a rehab hospital to learn how to walk and balance. I also was getting sick of the local hospital cuisine. Now I am finally home which is a tremendous boost for myself in order to get back to some resemblance of normal. My neck still feels very tight that radiates throughout my upper back. Even though it was, for me at least, a very interesting experience, I hope I will never have to endure another surgery ever again. Thank you very much for all the advice during my difficult journey.

Holger
Member

October 13, 2013 at 2:31 am

Post count: 16

in reply to: Pending extensive neck surgery :-( #9572

Hello Dr. Corenman,

My surgery was approved by my insurance and my neck surgery is scheduled for Tuesday 10/15/2013 in El Paso, TX. Dr. stated that I was going to be admitted for four days post op.

The procedure that he wants to perform is a vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, anterior approach with decompression of spinal cord and/or nerve roots; cervical, single segment. Anterior vertebrectomy of C6-C7, anterior/posterior fusion C5-T1, Harms mesh, synthes plate, mountaineer, and allograft.

He further stated that the actual procedure will take between four and five hours. His office requested that I see my primary care physician in order to get cleared for surgery. My PCP ordered a CBC, Chem 7, a comprehensive metabolic panel and an EKG for this surgery. I am happy to report that my blood work looks great and everything is in range therefore I was cleared for surgery. I do however look out for all “the bad stuff” and avoid sugar, salt, cholesterol and saturated fats. I can’t remember the last time I was at a McDonald’s, KFC, etc. To be honest, I have no choice since I am married to a very health conscience woman who looks after me.

My doctor suggested getting L-Theanine 200mg over the counter and to take 2 capsules three times a day to calm and relax prior to surgery.

I also purchased “Need Surgery? Now What? A Patient’s Guide to Anesthesia” by Dr. for my Kindle Fire. I have read this book cover to cover twice and I find it very helpful and recommend it for anyone facing surgery.

I will keep you posted after my surgery.

Sincerely,

Holger
Member

September 12, 2013 at 4:22 am

Post count: 16

in reply to: Extensive Neck Surgery #9358

Thank you so much for your response.

I will definitely follow your advise. I just received my appointment for a second opinion from another orthopedic surgeon. However, this doctors specialty does not include spinal surgery but is in the network. From my extensive studies of this surgery, anatomy, MRI studies, etc, etc, I saw that it is the best option to get the desired results to relieve the compression. I will keep you in the loop of my upcoming surgery. Again, thanks so much for your input!!

Holger
Member

September 6, 2013 at 7:47 am

Post count: 16

in reply to: Extensive Neck Surgery #9334

Thanks so much for your reply.

I finally read my doctors medical report. He is planning of performing an anterior cervical vertebrectomy of C-6 and C-7 and an anterior and posterior fusion of C-5 to T-1. According to his report, this is the best way to decompress the canal and cord. If pressure is left on the cord a permanent neurological change is possible. I show already signs of weakness in the right upper body region as well as weakness in my arm and hand. I could have a more severe injury if left untreated that could result in quadriplegia.

Well,it appears to me that surgery seems to be the best option in my case as the MRI showed that two vertebrae shifted towards the spinal cord and herniated the disks. Obviously I do not want to walk around with this fear in the back of my mind.

Did you perform this kind of surgery and do you have any suggestions what I can or should do to get myself ready for this type of surgery? Do you think I should prepare a living will as well as a will? Just want to cover my bases.

Thanks so much.

Holger
Member

August 15, 2013 at 6:47 am

Post count: 16

in reply to: Pending extensive neck surgery :-( #9227

Thank you so much for the info. I will let my spine surgeon know about my PE history and will definitely ask to use Lovenox asap. I wonder if they gave that to me in the hospital when I had my PE. I just remember being a pin-cushion every three hours for seven days. Well, it cured me of my fear of needles for sure!

Cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate this info. Thank you so much.
I can tell you are an awesome doctor!!! Too bad you’re not in my neck of the woods…

Holger
Member

August 15, 2013 at 1:24 am

Post count: 16

in reply to: Pending extensive neck surgery :-( #9224

That is very interesting info. I will absolutely let my surgeon know that I would like him to prescribe Warfarin as soon as possible.
The PE was no fun at all. It was very painful to say the least. It was the worst pain so far! I couldn’t breathe and the ER thought I had a heart attack.
Thanks again, this information is so very much appreciated!!!
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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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Holger

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