Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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lila
Participant

December 17, 2017 at 7:23 pm

Post count: 9

in reply to: Thoracic and cervical MRI Huge white blob?? #27092

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hzb6mlhWuaJlgeWGpS5YLrBZtbcEvZ-gfg/view?usp=drivesdk

lila
Participant

December 17, 2017 at 7:20 pm

Post count: 9

in reply to: Thoracic and cervical MRI Huge white blob?? #27091

lila
Participant

May 28, 2015 at 9:05 am

Post count: 9

in reply to: 6 months post op 3 level acdf #19565

Dr Corenman,

Are you even real?? A witty surgeon that actually answers questions with straight answers?!
You are a rarity sir.
I will call your office.
Thank you so much for being so up front and actually answering my questions.
I hope to see you soon…

Sincerely,
Lila

lila
Participant

May 27, 2015 at 10:03 pm

Post count: 9

in reply to: 6 months post op 3 level acdf #19554

Renee…
Glad to help. I hope you find a great surgeon! Maybe Dr Coreman is our answer… ;)
Hadn’t looked him up yet, so thanks for the heads up!
Good luck!

lila
Participant

May 27, 2015 at 9:58 pm

Post count: 9

in reply to: 6 months post op 3 level acdf #19553

Dr Corenman,

AGAIN, thank you!
It’s so nice to just receive straight answers!! So quickly too. How nice of you.
I feel like I’ve been getting the run around and am starting to think I need a second opinion.
Out of my area. :)
Everything you answered, makes complete sense.

Clearly my surgeon, is not following through with me, and I’m not sure why.

I wish someone would look at the right type of images with me, and tell me the truth. Show me them and Explain what they see.
Not just say “yes I saw it. It looks good”.
What does that even mean??

All I want, is to feel better and recover, but how does that happen when nobody is following up correctly?
I feel that because I continued to have symptoms after the surgery, my surgeon has written me off or something.
I am unsure of whether the symptoms and pain are normal in my situation and really need some answers.

One or two more questions… :)

Is there ever unexplainable pain or is there always a reason for the pain?

My pain is lower in my neck than the discomfort I experienced before the surgery and there’s also a stabbing near the fusion, but I describe it as a deep, sharp constant pain.

Is it possible the pain is imagined or in my head? Maybe neuropathic pain?
Or because it is new and different, it couldn’t be?

Finally…

Do you take out of state workers compensation insurance? My employer is self insured and do not contest any treatment requests.

If I was willing to travel, do you look at the file and images prior to me traveling?

What is the next step? I wouldn’t mind a trip to Colorado… I keep saying I need a vacation. Maybe I’ll come visit the Springs…. :)

Thank you in advance

Lila

lila
Participant

May 27, 2015 at 10:50 am

Post count: 9

in reply to: 6 months post op 3 level acdf #19540

Hi Renee,

I am also sorry that you are in the surgical arena. I hope everything goes well for you!!
I could probably write a patient advocacy book at this point!!

I have learned some tough lessons along the way, and have been reading and searching for information for what feels like forever at this point! :)

I hesitate to mention who the doctors are, because I hate to speak poorly of anyone and I’m still confused as to what the actual role of a surgeon is. If I had to do it over again, I would have a neurologist AND a neurosurgeon.
I have been told by the surgeons office that they don’t deal with ongoing issues, so my advice is this:
have a completely independent neurologist OR orthopedic spine DR AS WELL as the surgeon, on your team. The reason I suggest an independent doctor, that isn’t associated to the surgeon, is because that way you have a second set of eyes and ears to bounce everything off of. Someone that doesn’t have a stake in the surgery or it’s outcome.

I was originally seen at DENT neurology and it was DR KM that diagnosed me with a stretched braxial plexus and benign fasciculation syndrome.
My surgeon is with UB neurosurgery and he is the chief of neurosurgery.
He was the overseeing neurosurgeon for the football player that was paralyzed awhile back. It was all over the news at the time, because it was a new treatment for spinal cord injury.

The funny thing about it, is that I didn’t know that at the time. I was referred to him and told he was very good and conservative. The referring Dr said it was urgent, and when I looked up his Bio and experience, I was impressed. So because things were happening urgently, I didn’t take the time to look for a surgeon I was comfortable with.
Another thing you should keep in mind, is although it isn’t the surgeons staff that is cutting you open, they play a HUGE roll in aftercare and recovery.
My surgeons staff is seriously awful…
I am not normally one to complain, or cause a fuss. Frankly as a patient, it is the LAST thing we want to do.
However this last time around I felt I HAD to speak up and be my own advocate. I don’t feel like the care I’ve received is acceptable or compassionate or empathetic in any way. Some of the comments my nurse and PA have made make no sense, and are downright insensitive.
Pain is subjective to each individual. Just because symptoms are not typical, or subtle doesn’t mean they are any less significant to YOU.
Don’t be afraid to speak up, ask questions and say when you aren’t comfortable. If it isn’t well received by staff or the Dr, note that as a red flag. YOU as the patient have the right to understand what is happening with your body.

I am now just realizing all of this and wish I had someone tell me these things beforehand.
I may have answered some of my own questions just now… :)

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. I felt totally overwhelmed and worried before surgery too. (still am). It has been life changing and I wasn’t educated or informed correctly about what to expect prior to. Do as much reading as you can to understand your injury and symptoms. I hope you do well and you can get back to life. Remember that every single person has totally different situations and injuries and perceptions.
Trust your gut….
Hugs,
Lila
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Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 7 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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lila

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