Back Pain Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Back Pain, including details on lower back pain, sciatica, treatment, prevention, medication.

Coccydynia due to a benign notochordal cell tumor.

Haasper C, Länger F, Rosenthal H, Knobloch K, Mössinger E, Krettek C, Bastian L

Trauma Department, Hannover Medical School, Germany. Haasper.carl@mh-hannover.de

STUDY DESIGN: Case report. OBJECTIVE: To present a rare case of a notochordal cell tumor. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: We report on a 27-year-old female patient with pain at the lower back and muscle cramps in the area of the right hip. Image studies demonstrated a cystic lesion of the coccyx. METHODS: As clinical symptoms became chronic and were resistant to conservative treatment, a resection of the coccyx was performed. RESULTS: Histology revealed an intraosseous benign notochordal cell tumor. This tumor represents a recently described notochordal cell proliferation biologically distinct from chordomas. CONCLUSIONS: Overdiagnosis of these notochordal cell proliferations as chordomas may occur if clinicians and pathologists are unfamiliar with the spectrum of notochordal proliferations.

Published 18 June 2007 in Spine, 32(14): E394-6.
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