• Ramin Mehin, Robert Meek, Peter O'Brien, and Piotr Blachut.
• University of British Columbia, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC. rmehin@hotmail.com
• Can J Surg. 2006 Jun 1; 49 (3): 170-6.

BackgroundOsteitis pubis is a rare and self-limited condition. Surgery may be necessary in 5%-10% of cases. The outcome after surgery for osteitis pubis is not known.MethodsTo determine the success of surgical intervention for osteitis pubis, we used a computerized data registry to identify patients (10 women [mean age 40 yr]) who underwent surgery for osteitis pubis. A retrospective chart review was carried out. We also searched the literature for all cases of osteitis pubis managed surgically and identified 73 cases.ResultsThe 10 patients in our series had had symptoms for a mean of 4 years preoperatively. Onset of pain was insidious in 4 patients, it followed childbirth in 4 and it followed trauma in 2. Depending on the surgeon's preference, either a wedge resection of the symphysis pubis was performed or a symphysiodesis. At the latest follow-up (average 26 mo), although all patients had some improvement, only 6 of 10 patients were satisfied with the outcome. From the literature review, we identified 3 categories of patients with osteitis pubis: elite athletes, patients with postoperative or infectious osteitis pubis and the remainder, which would include the patients in our series.ConclusionsFour types of surgical intervention are described: curettage, arthrodesis, wedge resection and wide resection. The elite athletes respond well to curettage. Patients with osteitis pubis following urologic or gynecologic procedures or have a proven infection require surgery in roughly 50% of cases. The third group has an unpredictable outcome.

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