Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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salve97
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March 29, 2013 at 10:23 am

Post count: 32

in reply to: pars defect – stress fractures #8296

I am curious if any one of you had the surgery, and what was your outcome. As I have a pars defect also and gave been suffering for a while now and most likely will be turning towards fusion.

salve97
Member

February 28, 2013 at 2:06 am

Post count: 32

in reply to: Recent Diagnosed Bilateral Pars Fracture with Pain #8098

Hello Dr. Corenman, I just came back with the follow up from the surgeon who ordered the discogram . He stated that the discogram ruled out surgery for my condition. He stated that with a l3 pars defect and a EMG showing l5 nerve pinch with a negative response to the discogram there are to many variables to make fuse the pars. That contradicts my opinion of the discogram. Since its not the discs , then more proof it is the pars! correct?

salve97
Member

February 21, 2013 at 5:29 am

Post count: 32

in reply to: Recent Diagnosed Bilateral Pars Fracture with Pain #8047

Hello Dr. Corenman, well after numberous post and you telling me to get a discogram I finally got one today. I had to beg my Dr.to order it but it was done. I don’t know what to make of it. I felt absolutely no pain at all during the procedure. Well not more than my ususal pain. My pain right now is thru the roof but I assume that is because of the multiple levels they injectected. The Dr. who did the injection said I do have degerative discs, but they are not the pain generators. He did 3-4 , 4-5 and 5-s1. I know all posts are being redundent, but I need to be absolutely sure that fusion is the answer. In your words what did that discogram say? And also for My Pars Defect what is the correct surgical route. Evasive (Traditional open) or Non evasive?? And also one of the surgeons stated I will need a lamanectomy also? please advise?

salve97
Member

February 8, 2013 at 10:28 am

Post count: 32

in reply to: Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis #7940

I’m curios about your condition, as I have identicle symtoms as you! Good luck!

salve97
Member

February 6, 2013 at 9:10 pm

Post count: 32

in reply to: Recent Diagnosed Bilateral Pars Fracture with Pain #7930

Hello Doc, here is the status of my condition now. I’m still in relatively alot of pain. The pain is worse when I over do it or try to be “normal again” if you put my pain levels in numbers my back is now a 1 on the good days and sceaming 6 on the bad days. I can say I can alomost live with it but My legs have become increasing painfull Burning, especialy my calfs , more my left than right and my feet have a burning sensation. Work Comp was approved my last MRI that showed nothing new but DDD and a Pars defect with a 1mm spondy. I’m still in no condition to return to the Fire Dept. I have 3 opinions now, 2 say that im not a candidate for fusion and 1 says yes. Well I was setting up the surgurry and I decided to get the 3rd. He is very reluctant to fuse me and scared the livig daylights out of me with the parcible complications. He said less than 50%. He said he will entertain the fusion after I get a DiscoGram (youve told me to get this a number of timess) Not one of my surgeons suggested this except the new one. Please answer me this. What is the Discogram going to tell. I know it will show the bad discs leaking but what does it show for the Pars defect?? Will it show if the discs are the pain generators and not the pars. I’m leaning away from the pars now because of my increasing calf symtems. And also now im getting pain in my buttocks/hamstrings area. I know its been over a year and im extremly deconditiond but its a pain that has some burning in it. Doesnt effect my just every once in a while I feel the hamstinngs now. Also Ive tried Yoga and my back felt ssomewhat comportable , my calfs were the real pain. Thank you for your time. What should I look for in the discogram also?

salve97
Member

October 30, 2012 at 10:06 am

Post count: 32

in reply to: Recent Diagnosed Bilateral Pars Fracture with Pain #7300

Hello Doc, it has been quit a while since my last posts. Since my last post I have gone thru a nerve ablation from l2 to s1 bilaterally. That was on August 17th of this year. I did get very little relief from that proceddure but nothing significant. Since that proceedure I got a 2nd opinion from a Dr. at a differnt spine center because I have been leaning towards fusion for my defect. Per our last conversations I did request a discogram and I was told by the Pain clinic not to do it as the benefit will not outway the pain and that is strictly presurgury. So this New Orth Surgeon had me do another Pars Diognostic Injection wth Cortizone and Lidocaine from a radiologist instead of the pain clinic. Well it worked!!! He used a ton of lidocaine and My pain went from a 4 to a 1. I still had some leg pain and foot discomfort but all together my back pain has still been at a lower lever since the injection last friday. My origianl injury was over a year ago and I have had a total of 6 transforaminal and 2 rounds of facets with no releif. I quess you were right about a lot of false negatives with the pars injection. My question is , now what do I do. Since te cortizone is working and the panus has settled down is it likely I will have a full recovery or it it more likely I will reinjure the Panus (since I am a firefighter and extension will be inevitable? ) Or does this relief mean that Im now a candidate for the fusion. I have been denied fusin by 3 different surgens. and also the city IME stated Im not a candidate for surgury and he suggests that the city retire me from full duty? Or do I go thru life with pain of 1 or 2 and live with what I have (non active life) please advise on your opinion on what you think is my next steps?
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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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salve97

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