Hip and groin injuries are common in athletes
who take part in high level sports. Adductor muscle tendon injuries represent
a small but important number of these injuries. Avulsion of the
tendons attached to the symphysis pubis has previously been described:
these can be managed both operatively and non-operatively. We describe
an uncommon variant of this injury, namely complete avulsion of
the adductor sleeve complex: this includes adductor longus, pectineus
and rectus abdominis. We go on to describe a surgical technique
which promotes a full return to the pre-injury level of sporting
activity. Over a period of ten years, 15 high-level athletes with an MRI-confirmed
acute adductor complex avulsion injury (six to 34 days old) underwent
surgical repair. The operative procedure consisted of anatomical
re-attachment of the avulsed tissues in each case and mesh reinforcement
of the posterior inguinal wall in seven patients. All underwent a
standardised rehabilitation programme, which was then individualised
to be sport-specific. One patient developed a superficial wound infection, which was
successfully treated with antibiotics. Of the 15 patients, four
complained of transient local numbness which resolved in all cases.
All patients (including seven elite athletes) returned to their
previous level of participation in sport. Cite this article:
Hip arthroscopy is particularly attractive in
children as it confers advantages over arthrotomy or open surgery,
such as shorter recovery time and earlier return to activity. Developments
in surgical technique and arthroscopic instrumentation have enabled
extension of arthroscopy of the hip to this age group. Potential
challenges in paediatric and adolescent hip arthroscopy include
variability in size, normal developmental change from childhood to
adolescence, and conditions specific to children and adolescents
and their various consequences. Treatable disorders include the
sequelae of traumatic and sports-related hip joint injuries, Legg–Calve–Perthes’
disease and slipped capital femoral epiphysis, and the arthritic
and septic hip. Intra-articular abnormalities are rarely isolated and
are often associated with underlying morphological changes. This review presents the current concepts of hip arthroscopy
in the paediatric and adolescent patient, covering clinical assessment
and investigation, indications and results of the experience to
date, as well as technical challenges and future directions.
