Page 2 » Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 4 posts - 7 through 10 (of 10 total)

Previous 1 2

Author

Posts
Margo
Member

January 21, 2012 at 12:14 am

Post count: 12

in reply to: Nerve damage fears #5430

Yes your right. Thank you so much you helped me to understand what is happening here. I wish I could go through the physical examination first but since they will not do that I will then go ahead with the MRI it’s my only option.

Margo
Member

January 20, 2012 at 11:17 pm

Post count: 12

in reply to: Nerve damage fears #5426

Yes right the numbness that I felt was in the last two fingers of my left hand and the left side of my palm of that hand and did go away when I had first written to you, but it came back this afternoon for a little while and now it is gone away again. This is the second doctor I have tried and because of the language barrier or maybe because that’s how doctors are here they do not tell me anything they just prescribe more anti inflammatory tablets and give me more therapy on with that machine.

I don’t know if I can get any information out of them. But an MRI seems too serious and I’m afraid that even if they do not find any damage from the MRI they will still just say “see nothing is wrong with you” and I have no idea what to do about this come and go numbness. Before I do an MRI could I not do a CT scan instead? It looks like I have to find out on my own and then tell the doctor they are not telling me anything nor suggesting the right course of action I feel and I am not aware of what I need to do either.

Margo
Member

January 20, 2012 at 5:27 pm

Post count: 12

in reply to: Nerve damage fears #5423

thank you this is very helpful.

It sounds like I don’t need the MRI but I’m still worried about this numbness. I am sleeping the correct way on my back with a pillow underneath my knees and rolled up towel underneath my neck. However at different times I still get this numbness down my last two fingers to the side of the palm on my left hand. I don’t know what this coming from and I don’t know how to find out. This doctor has not suggested anything about a physical examination he just keeps saying not to worry. Do you know what this numbness could be coming from. Today as I was laying on a firm floor I wanted to see something on my computer so I lifted my little netbook computer to see it and held it up for some time when this numbness returned. This morning I slept on my side for an hour and it came back then too. The doctors just say it is from my neck cervical area or stress and not to worry but it feels strange to just ignore this numbness they do not make any suggestions to do a physical examination. I had to ask them to do the MRI but even after I get the results if I do it they will find nothing and just tell me not to worry but the numbness will not go away so I don’t know how to fix it.

Margo
Member

January 20, 2012 at 12:10 am

Post count: 12

in reply to: Nerve damage fears #5418

Yes the numbness in my hands is gone. No bending my neck did not cause my toe pain what happened is that I started laying flat to care for my lower back but in doing that I would put two pillows under my head so I could read laying down. That is when my hand pain started. So I realized and I did not bend my neck like that again that is why the numbness stopped.

No my doctor did not give me a physical examination. The doctors here do not seem to be so concerned about being thorough. He seems convinced though that I really should not worry and I’d like to believe him because an MRI is soooo expensive.

How it stands the pain in my toe is very low now and the numbeness and weakness has gone but I am also aware the slightest wrong movement of either my neck or my lower back will bring the radiating pain back. Maybe I will cancel the MRI and if the numbness should come back then I will go ahead and proceed with the MRI. What do you think?
Author

Posts

Viewing 4 posts - 7 through 10 (of 10 total)

Previous 1 2

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.

Submit your review
First Name, Last Initial:
Email:
Review Title:
Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Review:

Check this box to confirm you are human.
Submit Cancel

Margo

Forum Replies Created