Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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foxbird
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April 22, 2014 at 10:47 pm

Post count: 4

in reply to: Should I get a microdiscectomy? #10807

Pain certainly is a hard thing to rate. After having looked at a few more sites for ratings on the VAS scale, I would have to say that most of the pain is at least a 2. It qualifies as ‘annoying’, but towards the end of the day it starts to get into the realm of ‘uncomfortable’ which is a 4. It doesn’t change the overall details much, but it may give a clearer picture.

Since my doctors have been giving the same advice to avoid surgery, I’m trying to decide if that’s best. You did say that postoperatively the pain and symptoms typically go away. I’m looking at about 5 months of the same symptoms that have only changed in location, not in intensity. Is waiting and keeping up with my PT and exercises going to get me to the point where I have no symptoms most of the time? Or is surgery the most likely way to do that?

foxbird
Member

April 22, 2014 at 11:52 am

Post count: 4

in reply to: Should I get a microdiscectomy? #10805

I’ve not actually had any of surgery at this point yet. I’m tending to shy away from it (as my doctors and you have recommended), but I don’t want to wait too long where surgery won’t help any longer either.

By continuing to treat with PT, exercise, and the occasional NSAID I’m hoping that the symptoms will go away. Is that likely to happen, even though it’s been about 4 months now with the same symptoms and no improvement? I’m keen on waiting if it’s likely to improve. Otherwise, wouldn’t surgery be a better option to getting me back to a more ‘normal’ state?

Thanks again for your input!

foxbird
Member

April 22, 2014 at 2:37 am

Post count: 4

in reply to: Should I get a microdiscectomy? #10799

Thanks for getting back to me Dr. Corenman. I appreciate your opinion on the matter as it generally matches with most of what my other doctors are telling me.

Perhaps my expectations are a bit too high at this point in dealing with the issue. I don’t expect to pretend that nothing has ever happened, but I would like to experience days without the symptoms. I know a number of people tend to recover from this with ‘flare ups’ every so often, and that’s what I’m expecting. A few weeks or longer feeling normal (perhaps a little stiff but a warm shower would clear it up), and the odd flare up where I need to take a few aleve or advil. Does that seem to be too much to expect, or will there always been some daily issues I need to contend with?

I believe that’s why surgery was a consideration, in that a number of the good recoveries have people feeling ‘normal’ within a few months of the procedure. I’ve been dealing with this in one form or another since October and it’s starting to get frustrating not finding relief. I’m also concerned that some of these symptoms such as the tingling or burning will become permanent without some form of treatment. Physical Therapy didn’t seem to change the makeup much, but I can tell that I am a bit more fit than I used to be. Which is at least a plus.

I’ve asked about the epidurals for relief of symptoms, but since mine are so mild, I don’t mind ‘waiting it out’ if that will yield the same results over time. I’ll ask my doctor about it again when/if I see him again for a follow-up.

My biggest question now is: will the symptoms go away if I continue my exercises from PT, or should I expect to stay with the same issues I have for the rest of my life? If surgery has a better chance at making that happen, I might be more comfortable with the risks.

Thanks again for all your advice. It’s great that you’ve provided this resource and that you dedicate your time to helping those of us with questions and concerns.
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Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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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foxbird

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