Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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rdg426
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October 26, 2012 at 1:40 am

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in reply to: One in a Million? T9-T10 Symptomatic Disc Herniation #7255

I know that at some point surgery will probably be in my future but I will do my best to avoid it as long as possible. The last MRI did show that the herniation is already beginning to press on the spinal cord which is why the pain was worse 2 years ago then in the past. When an episode happens I lose all strength in my arms and legs and constantly drop things.

My biggest frustration that I face here in California is a shortage of doctors. When you call a specialist that have to agree to take your case on. Unfortunately for me I have not been able to get a physician in a big city to agree to do that which leaves me with an inexperienced injectionist. As I stated earlier, the last series of injections had some hiccups, they did not go smoothly and I was beginning to believe that this physician had never done thoracic injections before. Even the after care instructions they gave me were on lumbar injections. Because I had such an incredible injectionist in Ohio I have learned what they should be like. My husband and I are actually considering the options of traveling out of state just to get the quality care that I need for my back. And again, unfortunately the current physician has stated that because this is a chronic problem he is not sure that PT is a good idea any more and is hesitant to prescribe it for me. Luckily my daughter is a PTA and forwards the exercises to me that I need to be working on.

It’s a frustrating injury, I just wish there were easy answers.

rdg426
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October 24, 2012 at 1:50 am

Post count: 2

in reply to: One in a Million? T9-T10 Symptomatic Disc Herniation #7241

I am sorry to say that I also suffer from T9-T10 disc herniation. I am a healthy 44 year old woman with significant back problems. My problems started 8 years ago, at night, much like yours. Because I am asthmatic I thought I was having an asthma attack given the location of the pain and the fact that I had never experienced any back issues. My general practitioner told me it was indeed back pain and suggested ibuprofen. Usually I need 800mg to touch the pain.

After a long rough weekend in 2006 I called a friend of mine that was an orthopedic surgeon. He figured I pulled some muscles, gave me prednisone, pain meds and prescribed PT. After 2 weeks of PT the therapist sent me back to the doctor because the pain was worse. An MRI was performed and the disc herniation was found. Like you, I have no great story, the pain just started. I was referred to one of the best spine surgeons in Ohio who immediately said “absolutely no surgery” which was also the recommendation of my friend (the first physician). I was sent to a spine center and underwent a series of injections, physical therapy and was prescribed a portable TENS unit, something I strongly suggest.

I have to say, the injections work! They are not a cure but pretty close. I managed 3 years (most of it pain free with NO treatment) before I had to go back to the doctor.

In the course of that 3 years I moved to California and had to beg a doctor to take me on. They thought I was crazy, they said there was no way my diagnosis was correct. After my third phone call begging them to take my case they agreed and quickly sent me for an MRI to confirm that I was wrong… To their surprise I was right, I do have a disc herniation. This doctor said the same thing, no surgery. They actually told me that if a doctor suggests surgery to run the other way, the risks are too great. This doctor performed another round of injections and I have been good for the past 2 years until now.

Unfortunately I found this site because I was awakened at 3am this morning with that horrific pain once again. I keep hoping for a miracle cure but there is none. I will probably need the injections again but I am thinking that I may need to go to San Francisco for better treatment. Because this condition is so rare the doctor I was using (the best in the town I live in) struggled to get it right and actually missed with one on the injections, hit a nerve and caused additional pain.

Nonetheless, I recommend the injections. They do work and combined with PT and a TENS unit I can stay pain and med free with the exception of ibuprofen at the onset of what I call an “episode”.

Good luck with your treatment.
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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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rdg426

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