Page 4 » Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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dustingfab
Member

January 12, 2012 at 1:08 am

Post count: 27

in reply to: Left Hand Tremor #5342

Thank you, thank you for your quick feedback. At the present time, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place as I am scheduled for shoulder arthroscopic surgery due to a tear in my labrum and supraspinatus. I’ve already informed my employer of the need for a leave. But the idea of a leave for another surgery is pretty scary.

Is it possible for both the arthroscopic surgeon and spine surgeon to perform surgery at the same time?

You mention an ACDF, which according to whats described on your site seems more involved than a microdiscectomy surgery.

Is the recovery time for an ACDF vs. microdiscectomy similar?

dustingfab
Member

October 17, 2011 at 6:20 am

Post count: 27

in reply to: Cervical & Lumbar Radiculopathy #5008

The NSAIDS has reduced the pins and needles frequency I’ve been feeling in my arms, shoulders, hands, buttocks and lower extremities. A new symptoms I’ve been feeling is twitching. Primarily in my right arm and right and left buttocks and thighs. Is this a sign that things are getting worse or just another symptom or nerve compression?

I was referred to a pain specialist by the spine specialist to perform an ESI for the cervical and lumbar region. But the side effects of ESI freaked me out. I also, never got the opportunity to speak to the pain specialist 1:1 to discuss other options besides NSAIDS and PT. So I’ve been referred to another pain specialist by the neurologist. So I will see how this goes.

But I’m curious to understand more about the twitching.

dustingfab
Member

October 13, 2011 at 7:16 pm

Post count: 27

in reply to: Cervical & Lumbar Radiculopathy #4994

Dear Dr. Corenman,

Although the pain in my neck has decreased, I’m still a bit stiff. I went to a roller skating kiddy party which required me to use my arms to keep her from falling. My right arm felt weak towards the end of the day and my right shoulder felt out of place. As of today, my arm is still bothering me.

I am still going to PT and taking relafen which has decreased the parestheses. I wanted to know if the goal of PT is to get a patient back to “normal” or feeling “normal” without needing pain meds. Or feeling minimal pain, with continued use of pain meds?

I’ve been going to physical therapy since the beginning of June.

dustingfab
Member

October 6, 2011 at 11:00 pm

Post count: 27

in reply to: Cervical & Lumbar Radiculopathy #4977

Dear Dr. Corenman,

I have mild to moderate central canal stenosis in the C5-C6 and C6-C7.

I’ve update my post with results. Although, my neck range of motion has improved I do have periods of mild neck stiffness. My right shoulder tends to feel weak with increase activity, like in reaching for something or bathing.

The PT noted mild weakness in my lower extremities. But thank you for pointing out the following …Did you have hyper-reflexia, Hoffman’s sign, clonus or a positive Rhomberg’s sign.

The PT, or docs did not reveal if those signs were positive. These are questions I will ask during my next visit.

Although the risks of ESI are relatively small, bc I work full time and the sole provider for my family that very small risk is too big of a risk to take.

Please take a moment to review the results I updated. And that you again Dr. Corenman. I also want to thank you for your quick response and posting very informative You Tube videos.

dustingfab
Member

October 6, 2011 at 9:50 am

Post count: 27

in reply to: Cervical & Lumbar Radiculopathy #4975

Dear Dr. Corenman,

I’m sorry for being so vague. At the accident scene I didn’t feel injured. There was no fracture. I felt really agitated, nervous and scared by what happened. However, about an hour later when I was home and a bit more relaxed I developed a pounding headache and my entire body felt achy.

I am a nurse by trade and the idea of sitting in an ER during the memorial day was unpleasant to me. So I scheduled an appointment to see an orthopedic MD the following week. I was diagnosed with cervical strain, my back was bothering me too at the time but the pain was much more significant in the neck area. He order an x-ray which showed neck straightening. He ordered PT, NSAIDs and a muscle relaxer.

Exactly one month later(July), I was experiencing migraines and pin and needles in my shoulder and down my fingers. I f/u’ed with the ortho doc who ordered a cervical MRI. Here are the results: C3-C4, C5-C6 and C6-C7 disc herniations; mild to moderate C5-C7 stenosis and mild C6-C7 stenosis. Lumbar spine results showed disc space narrowing and desiccation at L5-S1. Posterior disc herniations at L4-L5 and L5-S1 with impingement. Posterior disc protrusion noted at L2-L3. Unfortunately, I don’t have the lumbar MRI in front of me but I what I do remember is L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc herniations and L5-S1 stenosis.

Because the cervical MRI was ordered first, PT was more focused on the neck.

The lumbar MRI EMG and NVC test was not done until August, PT focused on the back was recently started(Sept). I believe I’ve had 3 weeks of therapy for the lower back. The neck PT has been continuous since June.

The EMG and NVC (not sure how to read the NVC, but the neuro and spine docs stated the results were positive for nerve irriation/involvement) was significant and positive for nerve impingement at the cervical and lumbar level and showed decreased velocity.

The EMG showed evidence of right C5-C6 cervical and right L5-S1 lumbosacral radiculopathies. Also, there is evidence of moderate bilateral sensorimotor median nerve neuropathy at the wrist consistent with a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. So recently, I’ve seen a hand specialist and have been wearing wrist splints on both the right and left hand/wrist. I will follow up with a post note once I have the exact results in front of me.

The spine specialist recommended ESI for the cervical and lumbar spine. After doing research, I’ve declined ESI therapy. The side effects freaks me out too much.

In late August, regular ALLEVE wasn’t providing relief so the neuro MD prescribed relafen. The relafen has helped tremendously. I’ve since increased the relafen which has helped tremendously. The paresthesia symptoms are infrequent. I’ve been on the maximum relafen dose for 2 1/2 weeks now (9/17 was when I increased the dose.) But now I worry about kidney damage. I have a visit to my GP, so I know a CBC and chem 7 are standard tests during an annual. So I am interested in the results.

Did I mention I’ve been experiencing pins and needles in my groin area, no numbness and no bladder or bowel problems. I’ve mentioned this to the spine doc who hasn’t f/u with me as yet but I will also inform my GP.

I think I’ve been naive and in denial about the symptoms that I am experiencing. I’ve fallen in and out of states of sadness and depression. But I think I’ve accepted the fact that this is my life. And I will simply have to deal with it. And simply pretend this is not a big problem and go on with life as such.

Eventually, the no fault insurance will expire and will cease to provide coverage. If my lab results show even the slightest abnormality, I will stop taking the NSAIDs and will not take any opiates and simply hope and pray the stenosed area around my cervical and lumbar spine either decreases or remains unchanged.

Of course in the event, bladder, bowel dysfunction occurs or the lower mild weakness noted by the PT becomes significant then I would consider surgery.

Any thoughts or feedback would be most appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Viewing 5 posts - 19 through 23 (of 23 total)

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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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dustingfab

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