Worked for me, coccygectomy

Rodger

Posted 2009-01-11

Hi,

I'll keep this short and sweet, do it and if you want a professional to do it, go where I did.

I live in Alaska and suffered with coccydynia (tail bone pain) for 2 years. No one in this state will remove a tail bone so I went to California for the surgery, coccygectomy. I feel 98% fixed after 21 days and expect 100% by end of this week. My family doctor was going to have me doing injections and taking pain pills for the rest of my life. Me status at time of surgery; male, 40 years old, 40 lbs over weight, out of shape and middle of the road on pain threshold. Honestly, getting my wisdom teeth removed was worse then this.

Thank God I found this web site.

What to expect if you are coming from out of town:

Send them an MRI CDROM.

Schedule 9 to 12 days.

• Day 1 is a pre-op; blood draw, chest X-ray if you smoke and a nice local shot to make the pain go away for the week.
• Day 2 thru 7; go on vacation while your blood work is being done.
• Day 8 surgery; 0800 check-in,
• 0900 get a shot and an iv go to sleep,
• 1000 wake up being told to blow out into and suck in from some thing (lung strength check)
• 1300 move out of post-op into a room, sleep and watch TV. No real discomfort yet.
• 1800 they'll remove the catheter, discomfort begins and it'll hurt to urinate the first 2-3 times. You'll be up and walking around, small steps but surprisingly little pain.
• Day 9 0900 you'll start to want the medication on time. Walking steps will start getting shorter.
• 1300 Meet with Dr Schrot and get the discharge OK. I walked out and drove to a hotel. Not expected for everyone but realistically possible. If you're going to fly back home I'd recommend an additional nights stay.
• Day 10-15 The Glue they used (not stitches or staples) will start to fall away. Take a shower 3-4 days after surgery. Take a laxative because you'll be constipated big time. I found an oil based enema kit from the local drug store to be money well spent.
• Day 16-20 Cut back on the medication, it will still hurt to sit so use the pad they give you when you check out.
• Day 18 I went to work with slight medication as needed.
• Day 21 I'm feeling great and ready to move on with life. Not pad free yet but I'll be tossing it in a few more days.

Where I went: Sacramento California, UC Davis Spine Center, Dr Rudolph J. Schrot, Neurological Surgeon (see Doctors and specialists in the USA, California)

This guy is a brain surgeon and takes tail bones out in 30 minutes. He made it sound so easy he squeezes them in between the hard stuff.

Sincerely, Rodger (coccydynia survivor and very pro coccygectomy)

Update, 2009-01-20

Hi all,

It's day 35 from surgery. Not quite 100% but in the high 90's. I can sit without a pad for a few hours but still get a little tenderness from being cut open, not from any kind of tailbone issue. I used to struggle to stand from a seated position. I looked like a pregnant lady getting off a couch. That's all gone now. As for med's, I'm off completely.

FYI, the bill's are coming in and thank God I had insurance. The MRI, X-Rays, one office visit, surgery and a day and a half in the hospital cost $58,000. Likely I only have to pay around $200 of it and the insurance got the rest. I was blown away when I saw the cost. I should have been in my own room with steak and lobster for that.

I've gotten a few emails asking how I went about setting this surgery up. My family doctor referred me to a orthopedic surgeon. First mistake, the tailbone is part of the spine and a Neuro Surgeon is the correct referral. I started by calling my insurance and asking what surgeons were in my area and also if they were preferred on my policy. There were none in the area so I searched coccyx.org for physicians in California and Washington. Once I spoke to a few offices I called the insurance and asked, by name, which would be preferred on my policy. The last thing the insurance wanted me to do was get a referral from my family doctor to the Neuro Surgeon. He was happy to do so especially since I did the leg work. The rest is covered above.

I still say I do it all over in a heart beat. RD