ABSTRACT
Chronic pelvic pain is, by definition, pain that persists for more than 6 months. In its various forms, chronic pelvic pain affects an estimated 12 to 15% of women in the United States, accounting for more than $881 million spent each year on outpatient visits (Mathias et al., 1996). It is one of the most common but taxing problems in gynecologic practice. Even after a thorough workup, the etiology may remain obscure, and the relationship between certain types of pathology and the pain response may be inconsistent and often inexplicable. In the patient who has no obvious pathology, it may be tempting to remove pelvic structures for their physiological variations. Approximately 12% of all hysterectomies are performed for pelvic pain and 30% of patients who present to pain clinics have already had a hysterectomy (Chamberlain & La Ferla, 1987; Reiter, 1990b).
