Arthroscopic Acetabular Labral Repair in Patients Over the Age of 60 Years: A Matched Case-Control Study

Ten-Year Outcomes in Patients Aged 40 Years and Older After Primary Arthroscopic Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement With Labral Repair

BACKGROUND

Arthroscopic labral repair has been shown to result in favorable short- and midterm outcomes; however, the durability of outcomes specifically in older patients remains underreported.

PURPOSE

To (1) report prospectively collected hip preservation rates and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at a minimum 10-year follow-up in patients aged ≥40 years after primary hip arthroscopy with labral repair and (2) perform a matched analysis comparing patients aged ≥40 years with patients aged <40 years.

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed on all patients who underwent primary hip arthroscopy between February 2008 and December 2011. Patients aged ≥40 years who underwent labral repair were included. Preoperative and minimum 10-year follow-up scores were collected for multiple PROMs. Propensity score matching was utilized to compare these patients with a cohort of patients <40 years.

RESULTS

Of the 113 hips eligible, 91 hips (80.5%) on 85 patients (6 bilateral) had a minimum 10-year follow-up. There were 58 women (68%) and 27 men (32%) with a mean age and body mass index of 47.8 years and 25.8, respectively. The hip preservation rate for patients aged ≥40 years was 78%, with 20 patients requiring arthroplasty during the study period. There was significant improvement in all PROMs from baseline to minimum 10-year follow-up with high rates of achieving the minimal clinically important difference and Patient Acceptable Symptom State clinical outcome thresholds. In total, 69 patients aged ≥40 years were propensity matched to 107 patients <40 years. Patients ≥40 tended to have a lower hip preservation rate (81.2% vs 91.6%; P = .06), while patients in the younger cohort had significantly higher rates of secondary hip arthroscopy (14% vs 3%; P = .02). Improvement in PROMs was comparable between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Patients ≥40 years who underwent primary hip arthroscopy with labral repair demonstrated a hip preservation rate of 78%, significant and durable improvement in PROMs, and high rates of satisfaction at a minimum 10-year follow-up. Matched analysis with patients <40 years revealed comparable improvement in patient-reported outcomes between the 2 groups, with a tendency to a higher level of arthroplasty in patients ≥40 years.

Endoscopic Hip Abductor Tendon Repair Results in Successful Outcomes With 5- to 10-Year Follow-Up

PURPOSE

To report the outcomes of endoscopic repair in a consecutive series of patients with follow-up ranging from 5 to 10 years.

METHODS

Sixty-five consecutive hips in 63 patients (2 bilateral) undergoing endoscopic abductor tendon repair with minimum 5-year follow-up were assessed with the modified Harris Hip Score. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was determined as one-half the standard deviation of the amount of improvement.

RESULTS

The mean age was 56.6 years (standard deviation [SD], 11.3 years), with 58 female and 5 male patients. Follow-up was obtained on 64 hips (98.5%) at a mean of 85 months (SD, 15.7 months). There were 33 full-thickness and 32 partial-thickness tears, with 40 gluteus medius tears, 23 medius and minimus tears, and 2 isolated minimus tears. Concomitant arthroscopy of the hip joint was performed in 50 patients (52 hips), including 15 with correction of femoroacetabular impingement. The mean modified Harris Hip Score was 48.4 (SD, 15.7) preoperatively and 83.4 (SD, 15.9) postoperatively, reflecting a mean improvement of 34.9 (95% confidence interval, 34.9 ± 4.3), with 92.2% of patients achieving the MCID of 8.7. There were no complications. Three patients underwent further surgery: One underwent total hip replacement at 11 months after abductor repair, one underwent repeated arthroscopy for joint debridement at 12 months after repair, and one underwent revision abductor repair at 6 years postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, with 5- to 10-year follow-up, patients undergoing endoscopic abductor tendon repair can respond exceptionally well, with 92.2% achieving the MCID, even among a heterogeneous group of partial- and full-thickness tears with single- and 2-tendon involvement undergoing single- and double-row repair.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV, case series.

Mid- to Long-Term Outcomes in Patients After Hip Arthroscopy With Labral Reconstruction: A Systematic Review

Background

There is a paucity of aggregate data documenting mid- to long-term outcomes of patients after hip arthroscopy with labral reconstruction.

Purpose

To report mid- to long-term outcomes in patients after undergoing either primary or revision hip arthroscopy with labral reconstruction for the treatment of irreparable labral tears.

Study Design

Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods

A systematic review of the PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus databases in May 2022 was conducted with the following keywords: "hip arthroscopy,""labral reconstruction,""irreparable,""labrum,""reconstruction,""five-year,""midterm,""5 year,""long-term,""10 year," ten-year," and "femoroacetabular impingement" using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria. Midterm was defined as mean 5-year follow-up, and long-term was defined as mean 10-year or longer follow-up. For each included article, the demographic, radiographic, intraoperative, and surgical variables, as well as patient-reported outcomes (PROs), psychometric thresholds, and secondary surgeries were recorded. Forest plots were created for PROs that were reported in ≥3 studies; heterogeneity was assessed using I2 values.

Results

Out of 463 initial articles, 5 studies including 178 hips with primary and 41 hips with revision surgeries were included. One study had an average 5-year follow-up, three studies had a minimum 5-year follow-up and one study had a minimum 10-year follow-up. The most common indications for hip arthroscopy with labral reconstruction were irreparable labral tears. The most common PRO was the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), which was reported in all 5 studies. The mean preoperative mHHS ranged from 58.9 to 66, and the mean postoperative mHHS at minimum 5-year follow-up ranged from 80.2 to 89. The preoperative and postoperative mHHSs for the single long-term follow-up study were 60 and 82, respectively. All 5 studies demonstrated significant improvements in reported PROs. All 5 studies reported secondary surgery rates, with 1 study reporting rates at both 5- and 10-year follow-up. Conversion to total hip arthroplasty ranged from 0% to 27%, while overall secondary surgery rates ranged from 0% to 36%.

Conclusion

Findings demonstrated that patients undergoing primary and revision hip arthroscopy with labral reconstruction experienced favorable outcomes and high rates of clinical benefit and survivorship at mid- to long-term follow-up.

Editorial Commentary: The Severity of Femoral and Acetabular Articular Cartilage Defects Is Inversely Proportional to Mid- and Long-Term Success of Hip Arthroscopy

The health of the articular cartilage is an important determinant of success with hip arthroscopy. Recent research has shown that articular cartilage damage on both the acetabular and femoral sides of the hip joint places patients at higher risk of failure after primary hip arthroscopy, leading to the need for revision arthroscopy or total hip arthroplasty. This risk appears to increase with the degree of cartilage damage and manifests at the mid- and long-term follow-up points. Future studies may use this conclusion as a justification to characterize chondral defects in greater detail, reporting on defect size and location, in addition to grade.

Hip Arthroscopy With Bone Marrow Aspirate Injection for Patients With Symptomatic Labral Tears and Early Degenerative Changes Shows Similar Improvement Compared With Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroscopy With Symptomatic Labral Tears Without Arthritis

PURPOSE

To define the clinical effect of intra-articular injection of iliac crest-derived bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) at the time of hip arthroscopy in patients with symptomatic labral tears and early radiographic degenerative changes.

METHODS

A retrospective review of a prospectively collected hip registry database was performed. Patients with symptomatic labral tears and Tönnis grade 1 or 2 degenerative changes who underwent labrum-preserving hip arthroscopy with BMAC injection were included and were matched with patients who underwent hip arthroscopy without BMAC injection. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) collected preoperatively and up to 2 years postoperatively included the modified Harris Hip Score, Hip Outcome Score-Activities of Daily Living, Hip Outcome Score-Sport, and International Hip Outcome Tool 33 score. Clinical relevance was measured with the minimal clinically important difference, patient acceptable symptom state, and substantial clinical benefit for each outcome score.

RESULTS

A total of 35 patients underwent labrum-preserving hip arthroscopy with BMAC injection and were matched with 35 control patients. There were no differences in demographic characteristics between the groups (P > .05). The BMAC group consisted of 22 patients (62.9%) with Tönnis grade 1 changes and 13 (37.1%) with Tönnis grade 2 changes, whereas all 35 control patients had Tönnis grade 0 hips. All PROs were significantly improved in both groups at 2 years, with no difference in improvement. The rate of failure requiring conversion to total hip arthroplasty was 14.3% (mean, 1.6 years postoperatively) in the BMAC group and 5.7% (mean, 7 years postoperatively) in the control group (P = .09). The difference in the frequency of patients achieving the minimal clinically important difference, patient acceptable symptom state, and substantial clinical benefit was not statistically significant between cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

In a challenging group of patients with symptomatic labral tears and early radiographic degenerative changes, hip arthroscopy with BMAC injection results in statistically and clinically significant improvement in PROs comparable to a group of patients with nonarthritic hips undergoing hip arthroscopy at short-term follow-up.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, retrospective comparative therapeutic trial.

Acetabular Cartilage Lesions Predict Inferior Mid-Term Outcomes for Arthroscopic Labral Repair and Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome

PURPOSE

To analyze the effect of acetabular chondrosis at a minimum of 2 years following hip arthroscopy in patients undergoing labral repair and treatment of femoroacetabular impingement.

METHODS

From 2014 to 2017, patients undergoing arthroscopic labral repair were prospectively enrolled in a multicenter hip arthroscopy registry. The registry was retrospectively queried for primary labral repair patients with complete 2-year outcomes and a Tonnis grade of less than 2. Patients were grouped according to severity of articular cartilage damage noted intraoperatively using the Beck classification system: none, low-grade (Grade 1 or 2), or high-grade (Grade 3 or 4) damage. A Kruskal-Wallis test and post hoc Dunn's test with Holm correction compared 2-year postoperative outcome scores of the iHOT-12 scale between groups. The proportion of patients in each cohort who achieved the clinically significant thresholds of the minimum clinically important difference (MCID), patient-acceptable symptom scale, and substantial clinical benefit (SCB) were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression models identified predictors of achieving clinical thresholds while controlling for demographic variation.

RESULTS

422 patients met inclusion criteria, from which 347 completed 2-year outcomes. All groups experienced improvement in iHOT-12 scores from baseline to follow-up (P < .001). iHOT-12 scores at follow-up were inferior for Low-Grade Damage and High-Grade Damage Groups relative to the No Damage Group (P = .04; P = .03). When accounting for age, body mass index, gender, and preoperative iHOT-12 scores in logistic regression models, the presence of high-grade lesions was a negative predictor for achieving SCB (OR [95% CI], 0.54 [0.29-0.96]) and low-grade lesions a negative predictor for achieving MCID (0.50 [0.27-0.92]. Among patients with high-grade lesions, there was no significant difference in 2-year iHOT-12 scores between those undergoing chondroplasty (n = 50) and those undergoing microfracture (n = 14) (P = .14).

CONCLUSIONS

Acetabular cartilage damage portends inferior patient-reported outcomes 2 years after primary labral repair and treatment of femoroacetabular impingement. The presence of cartilage lesions was a negative predictor of individual achievement of several clinical thresholds.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III, Retrospective comparative cohort.

Labral Degeneration Predicts Inferior Mid-Term Outcomes in Hip Labral Repair: A Multicenter Comparative Analysis

PURPOSE

To analyze and compare the mid-term outcomes of hip arthroscopy for patients with and without labral degeneration from multiple orthopaedic centers. The purpose of this research is to develop an understanding of the impacts of labral degeneration on patient outcomes following arthroscopic treatment of labral tears.

METHODS

A prospective multicenter hip arthroscopy registry was queried for primary surgeries from January 2014 to October 2017 with completed 2-year International Hip Outcome Tool-12 (iHOT-12) reports. Patients were placed into cohorts based on the presence or absence of labral degeneration noted intraoperatively during hip arthroscopy. Degeneration was defined as yellowing, ossification, or calcification present in at least 50% of the labrum. Differences in baseline variation between groups were assessed with a Wilcoxon rank-sum test or χ² test. Two-year outcomes were assessed with iHOT-12. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted while controlling for age, body mass index, sex, and preoperative iHOT-12 scores to identify significant predictors of achieving the clinically significant thresholds of minimal clinically important difference, substantial clinical benefit, and patient-acceptable symptom scale.

RESULTS

In total, 735 patients met inclusion criteria, of whom 613 had complete outcomes information. Relative to the control group, the labral degeneration group was significantly older (mean age 44 ± 11 years vs 33 ± 12 years; P < .01). Both groups experienced statistically significant improvement in iHOT-12 scores from baseline to final follow-up (P < .001); however, patients with labral degeneration reported inferior 2-year iHOT-12 scores when compared with patients without degeneration (P < .001). In the logistic regression models, labral degeneration was a significant negative predictor of achieving iHOT-12 minimal clinically important difference (odds ratio [OR] 0.47; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.28-0.79), patient acceptable symptom state (OR 0.50; 95 CI 0.32-0.77), and substantial clinical benefit (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.37-0.89).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study conclude that patients with nondegenerative labral tissue at the time of repair have superior patient-reported outcomes at mid-term follow-up. The presence of labral degeneration was a negative predictor of achieving clinically significant thresholds after controlling for patient age, body mass index, sex, and baseline iHOT-12 scores.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III, retrospective comparative prognostic trial.

Hip Arthroscopy Improves Outcomes With Moderate Conversion to Total Hip Arthroplasty Rates in Patients Aged 50 Years or Older: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the indications, outcomes, and complications of hip arthroscopy in individuals 50 years of age or older over the past 5 years.

METHODS

The electronic databases PUBMED, MEDLINE, and EMBASE were searched on March 3, 2022, for studies assessing the use of primary hip arthroscopy for patients aged 50 years or older from the past 5 years. The Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies (MINORS) was used to assess study quality. Data are presented descriptively.

RESULTS

Overall, 17 studies were included, consisting of 6,696 patients (37.5%) with a mean age of 61.4 ± 5.0 years and a median follow-up of 24 months (range: 1.4-70.1). Indications for hip arthroscopy in patients aged 50 years or older were unspecified/undefined (93.8%), mixed pathology (i.e., combined femoroacetabular impingement [FAI], labral tear, osteoarthritis, etc.) (2.7%), and FAI (2.6%). Eleven studies demonstrated significant improvement in functional outcome scores from baseline to final follow-up. Of the 6 studies that compared outcomes across multiple age groups, 3 demonstrated significantly worse functional outcomes, and 2 demonstrated significantly higher rates of conversion to THA for older patients compared to younger patients. Lastly, the overall complication rates ranged from 0 to 38.3%. The rate of conversion to THA ranged from 0 to 34.6%, occurring between 6 and 60 months postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS

Hip arthroscopy for patients aged 50 years or older yields significant improvements in patient-reported outcomes postoperatively compared to baseline, with a moderate rate of conversion to THA (range: 0 to 34.6%). Clinicians should consider patient history (e.g., imaging, comorbidities, etc.) and values when electing for hip arthroscopy in the older population.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV, systematic review of Level III and IV studies.

Females and Males Achieved Comparable Outcomes and Clinical Benefits Following Primary Hip Arthroscopy with Labral Repair, but Age Affected Outcomes and Conversion to Total Hip Arthroplasty. A Short and Mid-Term Follow-Up Analysis with Dual Stratification

PURPOSE

To report and compare, according to sex and age, minimum 2-and minimum 5-year patient-reported outcome scores (PROs) and survivorship in a large cohort of patients who underwent primary hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS).

METHODS

Data from February 2008 to September 2018 were reviewed. Patients aged 60 and younger who underwent primary hip arthroscopy with minimum 2-year follow-up were included. Exclusion criteria were Tönnis grade >1, hip dysplasia, previous hip conditions, or any labral treatment different than repair. Minimum 5-year PROs were also collected. All patients included were divided into groups by sex. For further analysis, males and females were stratified according to age: < 21 years old, 21-30 years old, 31-40 years old, 41-50 years old, and 51-60 years old.

RESULTS

In total, 1,326 hips had minimum 2-year follow-up, including 860 (64.9%) females and 466 males (35.1%), with a mean age of 31.6 years (range, 12.8-60.9 years) and a mean follow-up of 58.7 ± 28.9 months. Of those, 772 had minimum 5-year follow-up, 515 females (66.7%), and 257 males (33.3%) with a mean age of 31.7 years (range, 13.1-60.7 years) and a mean follow-up of 78.5 ± 23.0 months. All patients showed significant improvements in PROs at minimum 2-and 5-year follow-up (P < .001). Between sex analysis revealed comparable PROs at latest follow-up between females and males across any age group. Within sexes, and when sexes were combined, patients <21 years old had significantly better outcomes compared to other age groups. There were more females <21 years old that required revision arthroscopy than males <21 years old (P = .015). Conversion to total hip arthroplasty (THA) showed no significant difference between sexes (P > .05). Rates of THA were <21 years (.8%), 21-30 years (2.1%), 31-40 years (4%), 41-50 years (8.9%), and 51-60 years (14.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Following primary hip arthroscopy for FAIS, all patients reported significant improvements in all PROs at minimum 2-and minimum 5-year follow-up, with females and males achieving similar success. Age affected outcomes, with patients under 21 years old reporting better scores regardless of sex. Although the conversion rate to THA was similar between the sexes, it was lower in the younger ages groups in both sexes.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III, retrospective comparative observation trial.

Clinical and radiological outcomes of combined modular prothesis and cortical strut for revision proximal femur in giant cell tumor of bone patients

BACKGROUND

Femoral bone deficiency is a challenging problem in revision proximal femoral replacement. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical and radiological outcomes of revision proximal femoral replacement as a salvage treatment for severe bone loss after oncologic proximal replacement surgery in patient with benign giant cell tumor of bone.

METHODS

16 patients (6 men and 10 women) were included in this retrospective study, with a mean age of 46.6 year at the time of revision surgery. All patients underwent revision proximal femoral replacement with the use of modular prosthesis and cortical strut allografts. The modified Harris Hip Score, Short Form 36, and musculoskeletal Tumor Society Score were used for patient evaluation. Regular follow-up was performed to evaluate the recurrence and metastases rate, limb function, and long-term complications of patients.

RESULTS

The average follow-up was 46.3 months (range, 26-75 months), during which there was no local recurrence and metastases of patient. At the latest follow-up, the mean modified Harris Hip Score was 70.6 points, which was significantly improved compared with that of preoperative (p < 0.05). The final follow-up results of Short Form 36, Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Score, and limb-length discrepancy were also significantly improved compared to that of preoperative (p < 0.05). At the latest follow-up, the implanted femoral stems were all stable and all cortical strut allografts were also incorporated to their own bone.

CONCLUSION

Using modular prosthesis and cortical strut allografts in revision, proximal femur replacement is an acceptable procedure for relatively young patient with severe proximal femoral bone loss after oncologic surgery with benign giant cell tumor of bone. More attentions should be paid to reduce the risk of complications in these complex reconstructions.

Labral Tear Management in Patients Aged 40 Years and Older Undergoing Primary Hip Arthroscopy: A Propensity-Matched Case-Control Study With Minimum 2-Year Follow-up

BACKGROUND

Previous literature has suggested that primary acetabular labral reconstruction leads to lower secondary surgery rates than does labral repair for patients aged ≥40 years.

PURPOSE

To report minimum 2-year patient-reported outcome (PRO) scores, survivorship, and secondary surgeries in patients aged ≥40 years who underwent primary hip arthroscopy with labral reconstruction compared with a propensity-matched primary labral repair group.

STUDY DESIGN

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed for patients who underwent a primary hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome between January 2014 and June 2018. Patients aged ≥40 years who underwent a labral reconstruction or a labral repair and had preoperative and minimum 2-year PROs for the modified Harris Hip Score, Nonarthritic Hip Score, and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain were included. Patients with previous ipsilateral hip conditions and surgery, Tönnis grade >1, hip dysplasia, or workers' compensation status were excluded. Patients in the reconstruction group were propensity matched 1:2 to patients in the repair group based on age, sex, and body mass index. Secondary surgeries and achievement of the minimal clinically important difference (MCID), patient acceptable symptom state (PASS), and maximum outcome improvement (MOI) were recorded.

RESULTS

A total of 53 and 106 hips were included in the labral reconstruction and repair groups, respectively. The average follow-up time was 37.6 months. The average ages for the reconstruction and repair groups were 48.01 ± 5.4 years and 48.61 ± 6.0 years, respectively. Both groups achieved significant improvements in all PROs at a minimum of 2 years, with similar achievements of MCID, PASS, and MOI, and comparable secondary surgery rates.

CONCLUSION

Patients aged ≥40 years who received primary labral repair and primary labral reconstruction achieved similar significant improvements in all PROs, VAS pain, and patient satisfaction at the minimum 2-year follow-up, with comparable rates of secondary surgeries and achieving MCID, PASS, and MOI. Based on these findings, labral repair remains the gold standard treatment for viable labrum in this population group, while reconstruction is a useful alternative for irreparable labrum.

Evaluation of outcome reporting trends for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome- a systematic review

PURPOSE

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the trends in the literature regarding surgical treatment for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) and to present which patient-reported outcome-measures (PROMs) and surgical approaches are included.

METHODS

This systematic review was conducted with the PRISMA guidelines. The literature search was performed on PubMed and Embase, covering studies from 1999 to 2020. Inclusion criteria were clinical studies with surgical treatment for FAIS, the use of PROMs as evaluation tool and studies in English. Exclusion criteria were studies with patients < 18 years, cohorts with < 8 patients, studies with primarily purpose to evaluate other diagnoses than FAIS and studies with radiographs as only outcomes without using PROMs. Data extracted were author, year, surgical intervention, type of study, level of evidence, demographics of included patients, and PROMs.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 2,559 studies, of which 196 were included. There was an increase of 2,043% in the number of studies from the first to the last five years (2004-2008)-(2016-2020). There were 135 (69%) retrospective, 55 (28%) prospective and 6 (3%) Randomized Controlled Trials. Level of evidence ranged from I-IV where Level III was most common (44%). More than half of the studies (58%) originated from USA. Arthroscopic surgery was the most common surgical treatment (85%). Mean follow-up was 27.0 months (± 17 SD), (range 1.5-120 months). Between 1-10 PROMs were included, and the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) was most commonly used (61%).

CONCLUSION

There has been a continuous increase in the number of published studies regarding FAIS with the majority evaluating arthroscopic surgery. The mHHS remains being the most commonly used PROM.

Patient-related risk factors associated with less favourable outcomes following hip arthroscopy

AIMS

This paper aims to review the evidence for patient-related factors associated with less favourable outcomes following hip arthroscopy.

METHODS

Literature reporting on preoperative patient-related risk factors and outcomes following hip arthroscopy were systematically identified from a computer-assisted literature search of Pubmed (Medline), Embase, and Cochrane Library using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and a scoping review.

RESULTS

Assessment of these texts yielded 101 final articles involving 90,315 hips for qualitative analysis. The most frequently reported risk factor related to a less favourable outcome after hip arthroscopy was older age and preoperative osteoarthritis of the hip. This was followed by female sex and patients who have low preoperative clinical scores, severe hip dysplasia, altered hip morphology (excess acetabular retroversion or excess femoral anteversion or retroversion), or a large cam deformity. Patients receiving workers' compensation or with rheumatoid arthritis were also more likely to have a less favourable outcome after hip arthroscopy. There is evidence that obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol, and a history of mental illness may be associated with marginally less favourable outcomes after hip arthroscopy. Athletes (except for ice hockey players) enjoy a more rapid recovery after hip arthroscopy than non-athletes. Finally, patients who have a favourable response to local anaesthetic are more likely to have a favourable outcome after hip arthroscopy.

CONCLUSION

Certain patient-related risk factors are associated with less favourable outcomes following hip arthroscopy. Understanding these risk factors will allow the appropriate surgical indications for hip arthroscopy to be further refined and help patients to comprehend their individual risk profile. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(7):822-831.

Outcomes of Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement in Chinese Patients Aged 50 Years or Older

Objective

To investigate the outcomes of hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in patients over the age of 50 years.

Method

This is a therapeutic case series study. A total of 27 FAI patients over the age of 50 years who met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were being followed up for at least 2 years in the orthopaedics department at our hospital between January 2015 and October 2017 were recruited for a prospective analysis on the outcomes of hip arthroscopy. All patients underwent unilateral surgery. Of the patients included, there were 15 men and 12 women, who were aged 50–74 years old (57 ± 6.4 years). The outcomes were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS), the modified Harris hip score (mHHS), and the International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT‐12).

Results

A total of 27 patients were followed up for at least 2 years. The postoperative center‐edge angle, the alpha angle, and the offset decreased significantly compared with preoperative measurements (P < 0.01). The mHHS before surgery and at 1 year and 2 years after surgery was 62.19 ± 7.47, 86.70 ± 5.80, and 87.89 ± 5.08, respectively; iHOT‐12 scores were 30.44 ± 4.22, 73.56 ± 3.89, and 73.77 ± 3.72, respectively; VAS scores were 6.07 ± 0.78, 1.93 ± 0.73, and 1.59 ± 0.64, respectively. As compared with the condition before surgery, there was a significant improvement in the mHHS, iHOT‐12, and VAS scores at 1 year and 2 years after surgery (P < 0.01). The mHHS score at 2‐year follow up after surgery was higher than that at 1 year after surgery, and the difference observed was statistically significant (P = 0.04). One patient with severe acetabular and femoral cartilage damage underwent total hip replacement 11 months after surgery.

Conclusion

Hip arthroscopy considerably improved hip symptoms and function in Chinese FAI patients aged 50 years or older who did not have severe radiographic osteoarthritis. The conversion to THA and complications were low. Strict surgical indications and appropriate surgical strategies lay the foundation for satisfactory postoperative results in elderly patients with FAI.

Editorial Commentary: It's Not the Age; It's the Story: Acetabular Labral Repair

The major factor separating a good from a poor outcome in any study is appropriate indications. We don't operate on x-rays, magnetic resonance images, or computed tomography scans alone; we operate on clinical symptoms. With proper patient selection, we can achieve good outcomes from hip arthroscopic surgery in many older patients. There is no controversy involved in performing hip arthroscopy for an older patient. The key is to prospectively identify the proper candidates.