Objective Children treated for sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) may experience functional sequelae later in life. It is not known whether SCT and associated problems affect the patient's general quality of life (QoL). In a national survey, we evaluated general QoL in adults treated for SCT during childhood and compared the results to reference values for the Dutch population.

Design The records of patients aged ≥18 years treated for an SCT in one of the six paediatric surgical centres in the Netherlands from 1970 to 1993 were retrospectively reviewed; patient characteristics were retrieved from medical records. General QoL was evaluated using the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). The means of the eight SF-36 domain scores of patients treated for SCT were compared to reference values for the Dutch population (n=757, aged 18–43 years). Linear regression analysis was used to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics between both groups.

Results 46 of 51 patients treated for SCT during childhood (90.2%), with a mean age of 26.3 years (range 18.3–41.1), returned completed SF-36 questionnaires. Their scores on all SF-36 subcategories were equivalent to those of the Dutch reference population. No significant differences in the scores of the SF-36 subcategories were found after linear regression analysis adjusting for differences in age, sex and living status between both groups.

Conclusions The long-term QoL of patients treated for SCT during childhood does not differ from that of the general population. Moreover, patients do not show impairment in social, physical or emotional functioning in adulthood.