Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Author

Posts
Jeff W.
Participant

January 24, 2017 at 7:49 am

Post count: 7

in reply to: How to provide best environment possible for nerve root to heal? #24220

Thank you for your response. Yes, I have a TENS unit… I find that sometimes it helps, and sometimes not, but it’s handy to have available. I’ve not heard of a spinal cord stimulator… I’ll investigate that.

Thank you again for your help, I really appreciate it.

If I find anything that helps, I’ll add more to my topic here so perhaps others can benefit.

Thank you for having a moderated forum for folks around the world to benefit. :-)

Jeff W.
Participant

January 22, 2017 at 7:42 pm

Post count: 7

in reply to: How to provide best environment possible for nerve root to heal? #24212

Sorry for yet another follow-up question…

Ugh… I sure hope my pain goes away sooner than 1.5 yrs (or never)! I’ve had this pain for 9 months prior to surgery, and now 2 months after fusion surgery, and sometimes I don’t know how much longer I can take it.

I’ve done lots of googling… how to reduce/manage the pain while hoping and waiting for the nerve to recover…
What options have you seen/heard best results for pain reduction/management?
Accupuncture, meditation, cognitive behavioral modification (psychology), dry needling, ???

Thank you.

Jeff W.
Participant

January 22, 2017 at 11:08 am

Post count: 7

in reply to: How to provide best environment possible for nerve root to heal? #24200

Thank you again for a prompt response, Dr. Corenman.

When I get dental anesthetics, they seem to work fine – never had a problem with those being ineffective.

I don’t think another epidural would help, so I won’t bother suggesting that to my doctor.
From your earlier response, I googled CRPS… the various symptoms do not match my condition, so I think that is doubtful.
The post-op seroma (blood or liquid causing compression) causing continued root compression that you mentioned sounds like a possible explanation, so I will ask my doctor’s team about that.

Of course, I guess it still remains that the most plausible explanation is that the nerve root was damaged by the compression (which was about 9 months) and simply just needs more time to [hopefully] heal? Would you agree that this is one of the probable explanations for my smptoms?

Thank you, again, Dr. Corenman.

Jeff W.
Participant

January 21, 2017 at 11:31 am

Post count: 7

in reply to: How to provide best environment possible for nerve root to heal? #24193

Dr. Corenman, thank you for your prompt response!

At this point, it seems addressing any inflammation is the most I can do…
As a point of context, prior to surgery over several months I had 4 epidurals… the ones directly into the L5/S1 joint were relatively painless, however the 3 that went into the “area where the S1 nerve exits” were VERY painful for several minutes. The effect of the epidurals was minimal… the best response I had was from the 2nd epidural where day 4 and 5 were GREAT, but alas on day 6 the pain returned.

A couple weeks ago I tried a Medrol Pack to see if that might help…. it did nothing for me. (Similarly, prior to surgery over the 9 months or so I tried the Medrol Pack twice… similarly it did little or nothing to reduce my pain episodes.

Do you feel this suggests an epidural now (post surgery) would be unlikely to help (ie. perhaps inflammation is not my problem), or do you feel an epidural now (post surgery) still warrants consideration?

Thank you so much.

Jeff W.
Participant

January 21, 2017 at 10:48 am

Post count: 7

in reply to: How to provide best environment possible for nerve root to heal? #24191

Thank you Dr. for your response. I will look into those possible causes for continued pain.

However, it doesn’t seem like you answered my primary question…
assuming my nerve root is, in fact, now decompressed:
Is there anything else I can do to “provide the best environment possible” for my decompressed nerve to heal?

Thank you for taking the time and effort to help me. :-)

Jeff W.
Participant

January 16, 2017 at 10:49 am

Post count: 7

in reply to: How to provide best environment possible for nerve root to heal? #24138

Oh, just another couple contextual points that may help:
* My radiculopathy both before and after fusion follows the S1 perfectly from my right buttock down to the outside of the ankle/foot. Any my pain typically felt like a painful cramp. Also, it seemed to make my leg/skin hyper-sensitive… when in pain, moving my leg, or touching my leg in those areas, would make it hurt even more. These pain episodes (level 6-9) would occur several times per day/night, usually for 30-60 minutes. The rest of the day I would have various less intense pains.
* My amount/intensity of radiculopathy pain episodes after surgery is maybe somewhat better (10-20%?)
* I had no “weakness” or numbness before nor after surgery. Just radiculopathy pain.
Author

Posts

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 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

Jeff W.

Forum Replies Created