Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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riclach
Participant

August 20, 2019 at 1:28 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: Post ACDF pain #30928

Dr: Corenman, my doctor ordered AP lateral and obliques x-rays instead of flexion/extension.
Are they still helpful for defining fusion status?

Thank you so much!

Claudia

riclach
Participant

August 13, 2019 at 5:19 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: Post ACDF pain #30873

I would like to do a phone consultation with you after I get the results.

riclach
Participant

August 13, 2019 at 2:48 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: Post ACDF pain #30871

Okay, I will get a new MRI. Would that also show the status of my fusion or do I need flexion/extension x-rays for that? It was over 12 months ago that I had the ACDF.

Thank you, thank you, thank you and GOD BLESS YOU!!!

Claudia

riclach
Participant

August 11, 2019 at 11:12 am

Post count: 20

in reply to: Post ACDF pain #30851

When I look at the radiculopathy pattern, my pain and paresthesia follow the C6-C7 pattern.
https://smartypance.com/radiculopathy-rapid-review/
The 2018 MRI showed C6-C7 uncovertebral hypertrophy contributes to moderate to severe bilateral neural foramina narrowing.
Could physical therapy for the shoulder be irritating C6-C7?

THANKYOU!!!

Claudia

riclach
Participant

August 10, 2019 at 8:09 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: Post ACDF pain #30841

Dear Dr. Corenman:

I had previously mentioned that I had been having shoulder pain while sleeping. I finally had a shoulder MRI done and on May 15 of this year I had a right shoulder arthroscopy with arthroscopic:
1. Rotator cuff repair (Subscapularis)
2. Bicep tenodesis
3. Subacromial decompression
4. Distal clavicle excision
5. Extensive debriment

I wore a sling for 6 weeks and had very little pain.
Once I started doing physical therapy, I started experiencing pain, not only to my shoulder and trapezius, which is normal, but also what feels like ‘nerve pain’ shooting down my right arm, forearm, hand and fingers (mainly middle). I also experience some numbness and tingling.
The nerve pain is not there all the time but the inside of my forearm gets a lot of painful knots and so do my bicep and trapezius and up my neck.
My physical therapists have no answers for me.
I asked my shoulder surgeon and was told that shoulder problems never radiate past the upper arm and thought I should ask my neck surgeon.

I never did get another MRI or CT scan to see if there still might be some foraminal compression present or to see if I had a successful fusion.
Now that I had the shoulder surgery I think it’s time to follow up with my neck condition.

In my case, would it be best to get an MRI or a CT scan?
I also wonder if the Brachial Plexus could have been irritated during shoulder surgery…

Thank you so much!!!

Claudia

riclach
Participant

August 15, 2018 at 10:21 am

Post count: 20

in reply to: Post ACDF pain #28957

Thank you so much for answering me.
What would need to be done if I do still have some compression on C4-C5 C5-C6?

My MRI had shown that I had foraminal narrowing on C3-C4 and C6-C7 as well.
Should the surgeon have performed a 4-level surgery instead of just targeting C4 to C6?
What now?
THANK YOU!!!

**********************************************

C3-C4 Normal disc. Mild narrowing of the central spinal canal with an AP sac diameter of 9.5 mm. Uncovertebral hypertrophy contributes to moderate to severe right and mild left neurforaminal narrowing

C4-C5 Small to moderate sized diffuse disc osteophyte complex contacts and moderately contours the ventral spinal cord and causes moderate narrowing of the central spinal canal with an AP sac diameter of 7.5 mm. Uncovertebral hypertrophy contributes to moderate to severe bilateral neural foramina narrowing.

C5-C6 Small diffuse disc osteophyte complex contacts and mildly to moderately contours the central spinal cord and causes moderate to severe central canal stenosis with an AP sac diameter of 7 mm. Unconvertebral hypertrophy contributes to severe right and moderate to severe left neuroforaminal narrowing

C6-C7 Normal disc. Mild narrowing of the central spinal canal with an AP sac diameter of 10.4 mm. Uncovertebral hypertrophy contributes to moderate to severe bilateral neural foramina narrowing
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Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 15 total)

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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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riclach

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