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carolns
Participant

March 31, 2014 at 10:34 pm

Post count: 88

in reply to: c2 and c3 please #10651

Here is what I had Feb7/14

The patient was admitted for an operation on Feb7, 2014. She came that day for a c2-4 decompression and posterior instrumented arthrodesis, which is uncomplicated. Her postoperative course was also uncomplicated and she remained neurologically intact postoperatively. She was prescribed an Aspen collar p.r.n. for comfort only. A postop x-ray show the instrumentation to be in a good position and her neck should be stable at this point. Her Hemovac was removed. She was mobilizing well and had no issues with swallowing or voiding. She was therefore discharged home on February 10,2014. Follow up will be arranged by Dr. Barry’s office. She has dissolvable sutures in place.

Thought I would let you see this as you have helped me so much Dr. Corenman.
I wear my collar when I go out only. My pain is all gone from the operation (7 1/2) weeks. The pain that went from the back of my neck to the top of my head, also around my ears and under my chin is all gone. You thought this would go and you were right.

Now we are both waiting to see my x-ray and appointment with Dr Barry in Halifax is good news. It is April 28 th. It will be almost 12 weeks when I go so don’t you think at 12 weeks I should have a fusion by then?
Thanks so much Carolns

carolns
Participant

March 9, 2014 at 8:49 pm

Post count: 88

in reply to: c2 and c3 please #10507

When he was looking at the MRI he was talking kind of to himself and said….we will put a screw in c4 as the other side is already fused from arthritis.

Just read the report before surgery and it says: c2 to c4
posterior decompression and instrumented reconstruction.

On her ct scan she does have a non fusion at c3-4 and therefore augmenting this level with screws would not alter her biomechanically. He calls it a c2-c4 posterior decompression and fusion.
When I see him the end of April I am going to ask him what is inside me. So this must mean I had a 2 level fusion? thanks so much Carolns

carolns
Participant

March 8, 2014 at 4:43 am

Post count: 88

in reply to: c2 and c3 please #10493

I had my posterior cervical decompression fusion of c2 c3 and a screw put in one side of c4 FOUR weeks ago.
I am doing well but I am wondering if the amount of pain I have is normal. When I first came home I took 12 Tylenol #3 every 24 hours. Now I take mostly 1 or 2 every 24 hours. Is it normal after 4 weeks to have some pain?
I do know they cut through muscle so maybe this is why? I see my NS 6 more weeks in Halifax.
Those stitches I was concerned about are all dissolved. Thank you for all your help .Carolns

carolns
Participant

February 26, 2014 at 3:19 am

Post count: 88

in reply to: dissolvable stitches #10432

I want to thank you for helping me about these stitches. I had peace of mind over the weekend.
Went to the doctor and she said the same as you. She touched my stitches and 5 fell off. You know the help you give us is really priceless. Thanks so very much Dr. Corenman. Doing good here. Carolns

carolns
Participant

February 12, 2014 at 5:22 am

Post count: 88

in reply to: c2 and c3 please #10325

Well here I am home. Operated on Friday and I came home Monday…..so much noise I couldn’t get any rest.
Dr Barry did what he said he would do. C2 c3 C4 Posterior cervical decompression & fusion. Told my son everything went great. The other Doctor wanted to do up to 7 but you taught me no need of that. I thank you so much. The new infirmary hospital is a teaching hospital and my son said there were a lot of doctors and interns coming out of the room,
Gave me and some of his other patients the Vista Aspen to wear when I walk. Will take it as I go. I don’t go to see him in Halifax in 2mts from now.
My neck is very stiff….can’t turn it side to side. The only problem I am having is pain control. I was on morphine in the hospital but take Tylenol 3 now. Taking 2 helps a lot but 1 just doesn’t do it. Concerned about stomach problem. Going to go see family doctor about pain meds
next Monday.
My pain going up my head and around my ear is gone for now.
So glad when I woke up and I was fine. I almost canceled when they told me the last day about blindness Thanks for encouraging me. I know I will do good as I believe I can do it. Will tell you more when I am not tired…….hugs carolns

carolns
Participant

February 5, 2014 at 4:49 am

Post count: 88

in reply to: c2 and c3 please #10309

I am so upset. I just got back from Halifax and the anesthesiologist told me there is a small chance I can go blind. The surgery is for 4 hours with me on my stomach. I may cancel until I am in so much pain I can’t stand it. Have you heard of this? Carol
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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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carolns

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