Page 4 » Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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Laura1963
Participant

January 30, 2020 at 4:12 pm

Post count: 36

in reply to: Please help me understand my MRI report #32029

Thank you Dr Corenman ..I greatly appreciate your time and knowledge ..and explaining everything to me ..You are the best !!

Laura1963
Participant

December 16, 2019 at 9:04 pm

Post count: 36

in reply to: Need interpretation Please read my MRI #31712

Another strange symptoms I have is feeling off something flowing it fills up in my throat ..mouth ..I feel like I swolliw it as well gag on it ..it puts pressure all over ..that chemical symptom feels entire body as well pressure from it ..it’s a scarey symptom ..it comes and goes ..throughout the nine years dealing with all these symptoms nothing physically impacted my well being ..I do have extremely stiff muscles legs arms shoulders mouth throat neck it doesn’t really hurt or effect me moving my muscles other then being stiff …my eyes ears inside my nose ..mouth ..throat ..legs head face hands personal areas both parts all have these symptoms whatever my mouth is dealing with at that time ..I get worst if I have a casual drink which I don’t try anymore ..vitamins magnesium supplements everything makes the symptoms more intense again just like to rule out everything else to be sure it’s not causing issues from my neck …I done nerve conduction tests all normal getting another one done again in January as well as an EEG in the new year’s ..these symptoms are worrying me a great deal ..I can’t physically excercise it makes it intense as well ..looking forward hearing from you as soon as you have done time please and thank you again

Laura1963
Participant

December 16, 2019 at 7:28 pm

Post count: 36

in reply to: Need interpretation Please read my MRI #31710

Dr Corenman ..these are my symptoms as I never ever had any of these symptoms ever in my life until I was given Klonopin for symptoms for peri menopause ..I was on them for four months only ..no longer no other meds prior or since quitted cold turkey as advised by my dr at that time ..This drug effects the CNS and GABA receptors …but since this I have been dealing with severe nerve pain wide spread ..what ever symptoms I have in my mouth which is severe nerve pain cutting scrapping nonstop pins and needles to burning muscle pain as well bone pain what ever symptoms are in my mouth it is exact same symptoms in my throat as well my entire body from head to toe ..it’s going on now for over 9 years ..I get days of symptoms abated..rare occasions almost symptom free ..I don’t have any weakness ..I function daily ..but in severe pain ..recently getting headaches from pressure in my head as it’s also in my neck as well as throat face etc…pressure on my jaws face off and on …I had every test imaginable as well multi brain MRI with and without contrast on both neck as well as brain … So I am trying to be sure it’s nothing from my neck associated with these symptoms ..As its head to toe..I had every other auto immune test done ..I had testing for MTHFR .. Inflammation testing ..I am in excellent health..there are times I feel inflammed entire body including my mouth had many inflammation tests done I have no inflammation at all ..Every dr specialist I seen says I am a mystery ..So I keep wondering if there’s anything in my neck causing any of this ..You had mentioned expansion of the canal can you point out what wording in my MRI report is mentioning my canal has expanded please and thank you …And is it very serious ..greatly appreciated very much for your time and knowledge .. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year’s to you and your family..

Laura1963
Participant

December 16, 2019 at 12:04 am

Post count: 36

in reply to: Need interpretation Please read my MRI #31705

Sorry I had to revise my last reply

Thank you very much Dr Corenman for your reply and knowledge ..greatly appreciate it very much.Another question if you so kindly please and thank you clarify for me to my understanding .Can you tell me if my report would indicate or cause any nerve pain especially in throat or mouth area ..I also read it doesnt meantion any impingement or compression ..just want to rule everything else out ..You mentioned that my spinal cord is expanded and it is correct I don’t have Chairi ..As in previous reports it had mentioned I didn’t have CM …What other reasons could cause cord expansion ? I would not of understood my report not suspected my cord was expanding that as I definitely read my report wrong ..I assumed there was no expansion my report written was no associated edema or cord expansion but didn’t acknowledge as on report no associated cord edema or cord expansion is this considered I have it but it’s not affiliated what is seen on my MRI is the report refer in reference to that I have edema as from what I read means swelling/inflammation ..that I have swelling/ inflammation considered to be edema but no known causes for edema or cord expansion ..Can having cord expansion be common ..is that also considered spinal stenosis the same as cord expansion ..or spinal stenosis shrinkage opposed to expanding ? Know kinda confused about expanding verses shrinking ..Thank you again

Sincerely Laura

Laura1963
Participant

December 15, 2019 at 11:58 pm

Post count: 36

in reply to: Need interpretation Please read my MRI #31704

Laura1963 wrote:

Thank you very much Dr Corenman for your reply and knowledge ..greatly appreciate it very much.Another question if you so kindly please and thank you clarify for me to my understanding .Can you tell me if my report would indicate or cause any nerve pain especially in throat or mouth area ..I also read it doesnt meantion any impingement or compression ..just want to rule everything else out ..You mentioned that my spinal cord is expanded and it is correct I don’t have Chairi ..As in previous reports it had mentioned I didn’t have CM …What other reasons could cause cord expansion ? I would not of understood my report not suspected my cord was expanding that as I definitely read my report wrong ..I assumed there was no expansion my report written was no associated edema or cord expansion but didn’t acknowledge as on report no associated cord edema or cord expansion is this considered I have it but it’s not affiliated what is seen on my MRI is the report refer in reference to that I have edema as from what I read means swelling/inflammation ..that I have swelling/ inflammation considered to be edema but no known causes for edema or cord expansion ..Can having cord expansion be common ..is that also considered spinal stenosis the same as cord expansion ..or spinal stenosis shrinkage opposed to expanding ? Know kinda confused about expanding verses shrinking ..Thank you again

Sincerely Laura

Laura1963
Participant

December 15, 2019 at 11:37 pm

Post count: 36

in reply to: Need interpretation Please read my MRI #31703

Thank you very much Dr Corenman for your reply and knowledge ..greatly appreciate it very much.Another question if you so kindly please and thank you clarify for me to my understanding .Can you tell me if my report would indicate or cause any nerve pain ..I also read it doesnt meantion any impingement orcompression ..just want to rule everything else out ..You mentioned that my spinal cord is expanded and it is correct I don’t have Chairi ..As in previous reports it had mentioned I didn’t have CM …What other reasons could cause cord expansion ? I would not of understood my report not suspected my cord was expanding that as I definitely read my report wrong ..I assumed there was no expansion but didn’t acknowledge no associated cord expansion ..Can having cord expansion be common ..is that also considered spinal stenosis the same as cord expansion ..or spinal stenosis shrinkage opposed to expanding ? Know kinda confused about expanding verses shrinking ..Thank you again

Sincerely Laura
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Viewing 6 posts - 19 through 24 (of 30 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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Laura1963

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