With the evolution of hip arthroscopy, it has been used as joint preserving surgery for osteoarthritis among various other indications. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors that affect the subgroup of patients with osteoarthritis that have had total hip replacements following hip arthroscopy. Data was retrieved retrospectively from 556 osteoarthritic patients' files that have had hip arthroscopy between the years 2002 to 2009 (mean follow up time 3.2 – range 1 to 6.4 years). Eighty-three (15%) of them have had eventually total hip replacement. The data analysis included different variables (i.e. age, arthritic stage, repeated procedures) that may have influenced the time elapsed between the hip arthroscopy and consecutive replacement procedures.Introduction
Methods
This study evaluates the outcome of arthroscopic femoral osteochondroplasty for cam lesions of the hip in the absence of additional pathology other than acetabular chondral lesions. We retrospectively reviewed 166 patients (170 hips) who were categorised according to three different grades of chondral damage. The outcome was assessed in each grade using the modified Harris Hip Score (MHHS) and the Non-Arthritic Hip Score (NAHS). Overall, at the last follow-up (mean 22 months, 12 to 72), the mean MHHS had improved by 15.3 points (95% confidence interval (CI), 8.9 to 21.7) and the mean NAHS by 15 points (95% CI, 9.4 to 20.5). Significantly better results were observed in hips with less severe chondral damage. Microfracture in limited chondral lesions showed superior results. Arthroscopic femoral osteochondroplasty for cam impingement with microfracture in selected cases is beneficial. The outcome correlates with the severity of acetabular chondral damage.
