Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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srk860
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January 31, 2024 at 10:15 am

Post count: 20

in reply to: weakness, atrophy, and dysfunction #35965

Dr corenman

I have tried but can’t figure out how to upload pics

A couple things, I am two weeks post surgery. As far as surgeries go, I think I’m doing well. I think I’m staying to panic bcus my NS and I don’t appear to be on the same page.

1. He wants me to take a wait and see approach and tells me it’ll take a lot of time to notice the gains from the decompression.
2. I understand this, but I’m convinced I’m dealing with 2 separate issues. I can’t even hold a drill out in front of me or cleanly lift a 5 pound weight from bottom to top using my left arm. I can use the arm good low and high, but the transition/rotation is the issue.
3. Everything I read says time is of the essence, so I really want to be proactive and I’m willing to consider almost any remedy. I called the Mayo Clinic and I’m curious of their thoughts.
4. 2 days after surgery I was able to lift the arm prettt smooth, but then it began to hurt again. I feel like I can now pin point the exact affected areas.

What would you recommend

srk860
Participant

January 16, 2024 at 11:16 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: weakness, atrophy, and dysfunction #35952

Hey Doc, I had my surgery and wanted to show you photos of my disc to see your take. I got the Prodisc SK that you suggested. How can I upload?

srk860
Participant

December 30, 2023 at 3:57 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: weakness, atrophy, and dysfunction #35923

Dr Corenman thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I guess I’m moving fwd w/ cervical surgery. My fears are, like you said, it may not have much of a positive benefit for me. With that said, I have one last question.

What our your thoughts on the success rate(s) of superscapular nerve decompression surgery? I watched some videos from Dr’s at HSS on Microneurolysis, and it appears to be pretty safe and produces’s good outcomes.

srk860
Participant

December 29, 2023 at 10:25 am

Post count: 20

in reply to: weakness, atrophy, and dysfunction #35921

Is it safe to say you would not get neck surgery. I’m not trying to get dissected for no reason.

srk860
Participant

December 28, 2023 at 11:50 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: weakness, atrophy, and dysfunction #35919

It feels that way. I am scheduled for neck surgery Jan 4, would you still follow through with that if you were me?

srk860
Participant

December 26, 2023 at 12:59 pm

Post count: 20

in reply to: weakness, atrophy, and dysfunction #35913

MRI update

Impression:

1. Mild fatty muscle atrophy of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus and
teres minor, with low-grade muscle edema which is likely neurogenic
edema given the history. No advanced muscle atrophy noted in the
infraspinatus however, in comparison to the other rotator cuff
muscles.

2. No mass, cyst or other space-occupying lesion within the
suprascapular notch or spinoglenoid notch. No evidence of
suprascapular nerve entrapment or extrinsic compression.

3. Mild to moderate tendinosis of the supraspinatus and
infraspinatus. No full-thickness rotator cuff tear. No labral or
biceps

Narrative
[HST]: SHOULDER PAIN, LABRAL TEAR SUSPECTED, XRAY DONE
LEFT SUPRASCAPULAR NEUROPATHY ON EMG WITH MARKED ATROPHY OF THE INFRASPINATUS MUSCLE
left suprascapular neuropathy on EMG with marked atrophy of the infraspinatus muscle

Exam: Left Shoulder MRI

History: SHOULDER PAIN, LABRAL TEAR SUSPECTED, XRAY DONE:: LEFT
SUPRASCAPULAR NEUROPATHY ON EMG WITH MARKED ATROPHY OF THE
INFRASPINATUS MUSCLE:: left suprascapular neuropathy on EMG with
marked atrophy of the infraspinatus muscle

Technique:
Coronal-oblique: T2 fat sat, T1
Sagittal-oblique: T2 fat sat, T1
Axial: PD fat sat, T1

Findings:

There is mild fatty muscle atrophy in the supraspinatus,
infraspinatus and teres minor, for example on series 8 image 19.
There does not appear to be advanced fatty atrophy of the
infraspinatus however. On T2-weighted imaging, there is mild
intramuscular edema present which may be related to neurogenic edema
given the history. This is seen for example on series 6 image 20,
with slightly greater signal in the muscle compared to the
subscapularis muscle. No underlying muscle or tendon tear is seen,
although there is moderate supraspinatus tendinosis present. No
high-grade or full-thickness tear is identified. There is mild
tendinopathy of the infraspinatus and subscapularis.

There is no mass, cyst or other space-occupying lesion within the
suprascapular notch or spinoglenoid notch to suggest mass effect on
the suprascapular nerve or nerve entrapment. No focal soft tissue
abnormality is seen around the left shoulder or scapula.

No acute osseous abnormality. There is mild glenohumeral and
acromioclavicular DJD. There is mild labral degeneration and
chondromalacia. No labral tear or paralabral cyst. Biceps tendon is
normal in appearance.
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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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srk860

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