Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

Forum Replies Created

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

Author

Posts
wave7
Participant

June 7, 2020 at 8:30 pm

Post count: 5

in reply to: Buttock pain microdiscectomy #32605

Dr. Corenman,

I posted my MRI results in my last post, my surgeon has released me, but my pain is still the same….My surgeon says it is still early in the recovery process but i am so worried. What is the next step in trying to resolve this nerve pain?

wave7
Participant

June 3, 2020 at 6:18 pm

Post count: 5

in reply to: Buttock pain microdiscectomy #32604

Dr. Corenman,

Here are the results from my MRI taken May 27, 2020, the surgeon said that the MRI is showing everything looks good and that sometimes the nerve just takes a longtime to heal and continue PT…I continue to be in pain daily wondering if this nerve will ever heal. I am two and half months post-surgery, he says it still early in the recovery process. My MRI results are;
Examination: MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/WO
Indication: BACK PAIN, LOW. L4-5 microdiscectomy 3/17/2020
Technique: MRI lumbar spine without and with intravenous contrast.
Comparison: Lumbar spine MRI 2/18/2020
Findings: At L3-4, there is a mild disc bulge and superimposed left foraminal disc protrusion. No spinal canal or foraminal stenosis.
At L4-5 there are postoperative changes on the left from recent discectomy. There is enhancing granulation tissue in the left epidural space surrounding the left L5 nerve root sheath. No recurrent disc herniation is appreciated.There is no spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis. There is a minimal 5 mm fluid collection at the laminotomy site. There is slightly increased size of a mild Schmorl’s node of the L5 superior endplat with mildly increased adjacent Modic type I endplate Change.
At L5-S1 there is an unchanged mild disc bulge. There are intraforaminal and far lateral disc osteophyte complexes bilaterally. There is moderate/severe right foraminal stenosis. No left foraminal stenosis.
There is T2 STIR hyperintense edema of the left paraspinal muscles which are beginning at L5 through visualized sacrum.
Impression:
Postoperative changes at L4-5. No recurrent disc herniation appreciated.

wave7
Participant

May 3, 2020 at 2:58 pm

Post count: 5

in reply to: Buttock pain microdiscectomy #32490

Thank you Dr. Corenman,

My surgeon has scheduled 4 more PT sessions, he has scheduled another MRI on May 27th and will release me if he doesn’t find anything on the MRI. I will have to find a long term pain management doctor. I have muscle atrophy in my thighs, but the physical therapist only works on my back. I am nervous that I will never run again and that my surgery is a failure. This nerve pain kicks my butt everyday.Can this injury be cured?

wave7
Participant

April 20, 2020 at 8:24 pm

Post count: 5

in reply to: Buttock pain microdiscectomy #32463

Thank you Dr. Corenman,

My doctor scheduled physical therapy appointments, however I was only able to attend one, because I have extreme pain after and no med to help me get through the exercises. I usually feel the pain from the physical therapy exercises about an hour after. I am concerned that by me not being able to do these exercises, I may be causing future problems down the line.

Could my but pain be from piriformis syndrome and is it safe for me to do exercises for piriformis after a month out of back surgery? What is the next step to cure my nerve pain?
Author

Posts

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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.

Submit your review
First Name, Last Initial:
Email:
Review Title:
Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Review:

Check this box to confirm you are human.
Submit Cancel

wave7

Forum Replies Created