Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
1997 Jul, 100: 1, 96-9
Zook NL; Zook EG
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Institute for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Springfield 62794-1511, USA.
Coccygectomy is a rarely used treatment for coccygodynia because of its high failure rate and various complications, such as bowel herniation, as seen in our patient. The limited number of literature articles available on coccygectomy discussed the few successes but failed to mention the complications and treatment of such. As a result of coccygectomy, our patient suffered from bowel herniation, unsuccessfully treated twice with prosthetic mesh. Bilateral gluteus maximus muscle flaps plicated in the midline reduced our patient's hernia successfully. This procedure appears to be an effective treatment for this postcoccygectomy complication.