A 25-year-old man with chronic intermittent coccygeal pain and mild bladder dysfunction

A 25-year-old man was diagnosed with tethered-cord syndrome with myelomeningocele, a protrusion of membrane and the spinal cord through a defect in the spinal column. Tethered-cord syndrome is a disorder characterized by incomplete closure of the spinal column before birth. The patient was admitted to the hospital with intermittent lower back pain. He had had a history of this type of pain throughout his life but it had become worse after surgery one year before admission to the hospital. A large tumor had been found during the surgery but it had not been removed. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan of his spine revealed an oval mass inside the spinal canal and abnormalities in the spine and the spinal column. Urodynamic studies showed some abnormalities in bladder function. During surgery to remove the spinal mass, it was revealed that the patient was suffering from tethered cord syndrome.