Page 2 » Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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tres
Member

January 10, 2014 at 12:06 am

Post count: 43

in reply to: ME. #10110

HI DR, THE REASON I ASK IS MOSTLY ALL I HAVE READ AND HEARD IS AFTER ONE FBSS THE OUTCOME FOR ANY RELIEF WITH A SECOND BACK SURGERY IS NOT GOOD.SO DO I HAVE THE FINAL SAY?

tres
Member

January 9, 2014 at 10:39 pm

Post count: 43

in reply to: DIAGNOSED CALCANEAL BURSITIS R/ANKLE #10107

HI DR, CAN I ASK MY PAIN MANAGEMENT DR THAT IS TREATING ME FOR A REFERAL TO SEE A FOOT AND ANKLE SPECIALIST?MY INJURIES ARE WORK RELATED ALL THE DOCTORS I AM SEEING ARE THRU WORKMANS COMPENSATION.

tres
Member

January 6, 2014 at 2:34 am

Post count: 43

in reply to: Recently had c6-7 fusion (neck) surgery #10072

hi puppylove444, i had the same surgery done in 2012 same symptoms post surgery as you.i ended up with stabbing pain base of skull, painful forward /back motion, headaces concentration problem,short term memory loss, dr said due to concusion when i fell back hit my head.left ulnar nerve damage caused by laying on same side for 8 hrs as per surgeon.bilateral carpal tunnel now looking forward trigger inj,for relief 6 months ago surgeon called this failed cervical surgery.hope you feel better do your research and when you see your dr again ask questions some do not like it but it is your health get copy of ops report look for infuse bmp2 if this was used it is not FDA approved for neck fusion good luck.

tres
Member

January 6, 2014 at 1:15 am

Post count: 43

in reply to: off labell use of BMP-2 #10071

hi dr, on 9/4/13 mri finding l5/s1 extruded posterior central disc herniation /cephalad migration disc mat by deforming the thecal sac.possibility of associated sequestered disc fragment posterior to the l5 vertebra. on 9/24/12 EMG findings left l5 radiculopathy, lower extremities the test took 45min/to 1hr.on 1/2/14 EMG diagnosis:722.10 lumbar disc displacement also lower extremities test took 15-20 min when she probed with needle on outer calfs and top of foot she said negative only positive in the lumbar area, wich test is correct 9/12 or 1/14. my question is the 1/2/14 diagnose related to 9/4/13 mri finding in any way? can the nerve damage done by the DLIF approach in 2010 heal or not?thank you dr.

tres
Member

January 5, 2014 at 9:36 pm

Post count: 43

in reply to: off labell use of BMP-2 #10067

hi dr,for the nerve damage during DLIF 2010 is thier treatment. any reason why he did not do surgery the way it was FDA approved? the back incision was made during same dlif surgery.prior to surgery 2009/only symptom on back was r/lumbar with rad,8 months later l/lumbar pain non rad,wich surgeon said was normal due to compensating for r/side.2011 emg finding l5/rad left side same symptoms as r/ side 9/13 mri findings osteoparotic spine t7/t8 herniation with stabbing pain mid back invulantary jerkig of body ,l5/s1 fracture.on 1/14 emg disc displacement is this the same l/5 disc? any reason he would not let me know of the serious risks with bmp2 i find alot of info on the spine journal,in 2009 when he reviewed the mri he said healthy spine beside the l5/rad on r/side.where do all these other complications come from post surgery,if i had to do it over i would the conventional way.knowing of potential deadly risks with bmp2 never! i am not saying it is the source of my problems but just to know of these potential added problems no way!thank you dr.

tres
Member

January 4, 2014 at 4:31 am

Post count: 43

in reply to: off labell use of BMP-2 #10049

hi dr,as far as the ops report it was an anterior interbody fusion via DLIF approach.but he only went through the back and r/side wich till this day is still numb from incision site to groin/buttocks wich surgeon said is not normal.as far as what happened in 2009 i was unloading a trailer of different size boxes the heaviest bottemed out i felt extreme pain low back and head when i fell back against the wall of the truck hitting head /whole back i was actually falling from pain /weakness conclusion failed cevical fusion ulnar nerve damage,failed back fusion worse than before surgery before lumbar fusion all findings were just l5/rad r/side with non approved treatment to see a neuorosurgeon till 2010 at wich time i was having same pain on l/lumbar new emg showed 2011 l5/rad on left side.new symptoms extreme numbness down to feet shooting pains down legs both bottucks sharp stabbing pain front/ back thighs some light urine leakage at nite using guards ed problems wich dr said could be caused by new finding interval extruded posterior disc herniation l5/s1 deforming the thecal sac with cephalad migration of the disc material posterior at the l5 vertebra.possibility of asequestered disc fragment not excluded.moderate bilateral foraminal stenosis at l4-5 with border line central stenosis.mild dxtroscoliosis /spondylosis.1/2/14 emg diagnosis lumbar disc dsplacement,why after the fusion is all this happening?thank very much for your input dr.
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Viewing 6 posts - 7 through 12 (of 12 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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tres

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