Dear Dr Corenman,
Thanks again for your reply. Is the direct repair with screws that you do similar to the Bucks repair? Do you use a bone graft or BMP?
I know you advised I need a lumbar CT scan to determine if a direct pars repair if feasible. But would you possibly be able to tell if a direct pars repair was NOT feasible just by looking at my lumbar MRI, A/P CT scan, and x-rays?
I hate to go and get more radiation exposure if its at all possible to tell from the imaging I already have. As I said, my husband and I are still hoping to get pregnant again in the future. If my only option at this point is a fusion, I’ve been advised it may be better to get pregnant first and then get a fusion because I am 38 and running out of time. My concerns with that plan though are if pregnancy would make the slip worse, worsen the pain, possibly being on bed rest for months, and if my L5 slip could cause problems with a vaginal delivery (delivered my first 2 vaginally easily.…but that may have been before I had a slip).
Do pars fractures bleed? My lumbar MRI reads that there is fluid surrounding my right pars fracture. My A/P CT scan back in july also read that there was “soft tissue fullness between the terminal ileum, cecum, and psoas muscle” which is what they believed was causing my right sided pain. Could that be possibly related to the fluid around the pars fracture? Also, could pain from a pars fracture radiate down into the butt? I have had chronic pain on the right side about an inch below my SI joint and just to the right of my sacrum.
Thank you again so much for all the time you give reading and answering questions.
