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marta77
Participant

February 17, 2016 at 9:35 am

Post count: 18

in reply to: Open posterior c6c7 discectomy/laminectomy and foraminotomy #21365

Hi Dr. Corenman

My name is Luke and Marta is my wife. First I would like to thank you for all the help, we appreciated it very much.

I would like to update you and ask you for your opinion. Marta finished taking dexamethasone and her symptoms are coming back and getting stronger everyday. Her neurosurgeon wants to see her in about 4 weeks to send her to get mri. He also mentioned that Marta might need another surgery. What type of surgery would be necessary?? Surgery to remove fluid of something else?? I understand that every dr might take a different approach but we value your opinion very much.

Thank you very much,
Luke

marta77
Participant

February 10, 2016 at 12:10 pm

Post count: 18

in reply to: Open posterior c6c7 discectomy/laminectomy and foraminotomy #21305

Thaaaaank you so much for all your answers. I am sorry for late reply but recently i am not doing to great. Dex steroids have really bad side effects on me. I didn’t sleep since Friday, my stomach is killing me i have headaches and neusa. I contacted my neurosurgeon office but only physician assistant was able to return my phone call. He advised me to play with medication schedule and dosage and try to push few hours here or there my pills. Also when i told him about my side effects and not able to sleep he said he doesn’t know what to say. I was keep calling my NS office but still no answer. I did space out meds like they told me but it seems that i feeel even worse and still dont sleep and my nose is bleeding . My symptoms came back as well since i started to play with it and now i have them on my right side as well on and off. I am very irritated upset ceunky crying tired stomach hurts and i am trying to understand hiw my dr can ignore patient so much. Tried to make another phone call but no results. Should i quit taking it? Why my symptoms are back on so fast after i space out?
Please advise thank you so mu h dr Corenman
Marta

marta77
Participant

February 6, 2016 at 10:45 am

Post count: 18

in reply to: Open posterior c6c7 discectomy/laminectomy and foraminotomy #21267

Dear Dr. Corenman

Thank you so much for your response. In my situation i appreciate all help. As an immigrant sometimes I am confused how i should proceed specially in medical field. I saw my neurosurgeon yesterday and he was avoiding to answer a lot of my questions. He prescribed DEXAMETHASONE 4 mg tablet, and he evaluated me confirming the same symptoms from before the surgery are back on since after the car accident. He did not asked me about headaches which i had before and after surgery but not as frequent as now. I trust my Dr. but yesterday he really didn’t give me any straight answers which concerns me. He usually reads all mri in front of me and answers my questions but yesterday he took the mri readings and said he will review them in his office and will be right back, which again seems very odd to me.

It would really help me to sleep better if i would know what awaits for me in the future :)
As i mentioned before i am 38 year old female, physically very active and i do not see any progress in my recovery and i actually feel worse then right after the surgery. When the original accident happened i made a lot of mistakes because of lack of knowledge about what was happening and how serious it was. I am hoping that i can do everything right this time.

I am attaching a link to my mri readings, hopefully you will be able to take a look at them and give me your opinion and answer my following questions:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sbp4qx1lykfhocm/AACL_BII8pmzqQUeX_k-aumwa?dl=0
if you are unable to open it i can take more screenshots and post it for you.

1. What should i expect after completion of steroids i was prescribed
2. Mri report states fluid collection and inflammatory enhancement extending to the region bordering posterior epidural space. Why do i have inflammation 8 weeks after surgery since nerve is not pinched anymore.
3. My neurosurgeon will send me for new mri scans 3 weeks after i complete this prescription of steroids. My question is: if there is not improvement what is the next step?
4. Can you see any metallic artifacts?? Are they big?? Should i be concerned?
5. Where exactly is this fluid collection? and can you tell from mri if its dural leak or post surgery change?
6. Is it dangerous what is happening inside of me right now?
7. Can you tell form mri scans how is everything else healing? When would i be able to go back to physical activities or should i take any special precautions.

Do you have any recommendations how to approach doctors which are not wililng to explain to me my condition. I dont want to be too pushy or disrespectful but i would like an explanation of what is happening.

I really really appreciate your time and help. I hope you have a good weekend.

Thank you very much
Marta

marta77
Participant

February 3, 2016 at 5:38 pm

Post count: 18

in reply to: Open posterior c6c7 discectomy/laminectomy and foraminotomy #21251

better copy of the report. sorry, i do not know how to make the image show up

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4pa3937ylsuwjp0/mri-report.jpg?dl=0
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Viewing 4 posts - 13 through 16 (of 16 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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marta77

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