Abstract
Objective: This study was a retrospective analysis of 38 patients who underwent sacroiliac joint debridement(SJD) as a treatment for confirmed sacroiliac joint (SI joint) pain. Background Data: This is a new, unpublicized, minimally invasive (we define minimally invasive as a surgery with an incision of less than 1 inch) surgical technique. There are no prior studies on this surgery, but the surgery is compared to SI joint fusion surgery, which offers a success rate of 50–70% in larger studies. Methods: Thirty-eight patients with confirmed SI joint pain via a preoperative modified SI joint injection underwent SJD. These patients were followed up at 12-month intervals to determine their degree of pain relief from this surgery. Results: Of the 38 patients, 61% of these patients had 50–100% reductions of their VAS and 53% had >75% improvement for>2 years. No complications were noted. Histology sections of the removed tissues revealed a non-inflammatory degenerative musculo-tendinous tissue similar to a chronic tendonitis. Conclusions: SJD is a reasonable treatment option for SI joint pain, which has a low complication rate and a success rate similar to SI joint fusion. Sacroiliac joint pain may be related to a degenerative musculo-tendinous condition of the surface of the joint on the iliac side.
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