Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

Author

Posts
Discodan
Participant

July 7, 2020 at 9:08 am

Post count: 5

in reply to: Struggling a bit 6months post l5s1 discectomy #32720

So another update and maybe some advice needed.
So at end of April into early May I was busy for a week on farm, I was driving tractor on rough ground for a few hrs each day and picking stones. I felt the tractor driving in particular caused me some discomfort as i was being thrown around inside the cab. I noticed after this week i couldnt walk very far{2km} without feeling the same discomfort/numbness along with mild referral pain down my left leg, very similar to how i felt in my original post last November. I got physio which helped but after a few days i resumed work as normal on farm and the discomfort returned, at no point did i feel any sharp pain, it was more of a discomfort that gradually gets worse with activity or driving tractor. It can be very uncomfortable at night. I got more physio a couple of times and took nurofen but have been struggling ever since. I went to my GP 3 wks ago and he gave me a reducing dose of steroids{prednisoline) for 8 days which made a huge difference in my recovery last November but they didnt seem to have the same effect this time around. He was happy with my reflexes and my range of movement is pretty good without feeling any sharp pain. So its been 9 or 10 wks now like this, there have been times i felt i was making progress having 2 or 3 good days but i easily irritate it again by doing very small things like walking that little bit further, maybe 3km or by doing something on farm. Ive kept away from doing any heavy lifting or tractor work.

I have a follow up appointment with surgeon on july 29th which will be 15months post op.
Have you any advice? Should I request another Mri before seeing him?

Discodan
Participant

April 21, 2020 at 1:57 am

Post count: 5

in reply to: Struggling a bit 6months post l5s1 discectomy #32464

So A quick update 5months since my last post and almost a full year after my operation.

Massive improvement, I met surgeon on 9th Dec last and had an MRI the same day. Mri came back looking very good and surgeon said I need to give it more time, a year or maybe even 18months he said. I had been experiencing improvement for a about a month at this stage after taking a course of oral steroids along with antibiotics for a chest infection. Even though they weren’t prescribed to treat my back they really helped me turn a corner.

Nowadays I’m doing really well. I’m back working daily on the farm doing manual work but minding myself. I walk every day and i do a 7km or 8km walk maybe 3 times a week now. I’m taking no pain killers at all now. There are days when I’m a bit stiff and sore and I just take things that bit easier.

Overall I’m very pleased with where i am today especially when I thought surgery was a failure 6months post op.

I am excited about the future and I’m in a positive state of mind again..Stay safe everyone..

Discodan
Participant

December 2, 2019 at 4:12 am

Post count: 5

in reply to: Struggling a bit 6months post l5s1 discectomy #31607

Seems pretty sound advice. I’ve been able to build up my exercise twice already before the flare up/setbacks so I’m still hopeful that I can do it again more patiently and steadily.
Im booked in for MRI and follow up on 9th/Dec so I will know more then.

Thank you again for getting back to me.

Discodan
Participant

November 23, 2019 at 11:51 am

Post count: 5

in reply to: Struggling a bit 6months post l5s1 discectomy #31530

Thank you for your quick response and after reading both the IDR and Stenosis links you sent it’s seems to tie in with my symptoms and the mri imaging I saw of my l5s1 disc.

I suppose I’m also wondering what your thoughts are regarding the chances of my current symptoms improving given I’m now at 7months post op?? I’ve read that in some cases where a nerve has been compressed a long time (7yrs in my case) it can take much longer for the nerve to settle down. But I have interpreted that if I have IDR as a result of my surgery then the root cause of my symptoms now may not be from my decompressed nerve..

If my symptoms do not improve over the next few months, is there any other treatment other than surgery that can help my situation? I’ve noticed the oral steroid I took for my flu helped, does this mean a steroid injection may help? I suppose my end goal here is to get back working at maybe 75% capacity and being able to walk/cycle a good distance.

When you say not to jump into another surgery, are you saying that maybe I should be happy with where I am and settle for that? Maybe that is the way to go and I may have to get my head around that. I suppose I just love being active but I am aware that there are people in much worse situations than me.
I won’t be jumping into another surgery and if it’s suggested as an option to me Id definitely be getting a second opinion.

Thank you again for your response, it’s hard to get a response let alone and informed opinion on any other forum.
Author

Posts

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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

Discodan

Forum Replies Created