Coccygodynia and coccygectomy

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Pain Management
• Surgical Outcomes

Background:

• Chronic refractory coccygodynia significantly impacts quality of life.
• Conservative treatments often fail to provide relief for persistent tailbone pain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of coccygectomy for chronic refractory coccygodynia.
• To review existing literature and present institutional surgical outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of coccygodynia and coccygectomy (1980-2012).
• Retrospective analysis of 61 patients undergoing coccygectomy (1997-2009).
• Telephone questionnaires for outcome assessment.

Main Results:

• 84% of patients in literature and 84.6% in the institutional series reported good to excellent outcomes.
• Direct trauma was the most common cause (58.5%).
• Wound infection was the most frequent complication (10.0% - 11.5%).

Conclusions:

• Coccygectomy demonstrates effectiveness in managing chronic refractory coccygodynia.
• The procedure is relatively straightforward but necessitates meticulous wound care to minimize infection risk.