Outcomes of Hip Arthroscopy in Adolescents: A Comparison of Acute Versus Chronic Presentation. Two-Year Minimum Follow-up
Abstract
Background: Hip arthroscopy has been shown to be effective in managing various hip pathologies, including labral tears in adolescent patients. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether outcomes of hip arthroscopy in patients under the age of 18 treated for labral tears differ depending on whether the presentation was acute or chronic. We also present the outcomes of the largest prospectively collected study on hip arthroscopy performed for labral tears in adolescents.
Methods: Patient reported outcome scores (PROs) for 194 patients undergoing hip arthroscopy for hip pathology, who were 18 or under at the time of surgery were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed. Modified Harris hip score (mHHS), Nonarthritic hip score (NAHS), Hip Outcome score-sport specific scale (HOS-SSS) and Visual Analogue Score (VAS) were the PROs collected. The overall cohort was assessed for outcome and a comparison was made between those patients who presented with acute onset of symptoms versus those who presented with insidious onset.
Results: There was significant improvement in all the PROs for the overall cohort, with improvement maintained over an average of 38.5 months. There was no significant difference in outcome scores, between the acute and chronic groups except for change in VAS. Preoperative scores in the acute group were significantly lower, while postoperative scores did not differ. A trend toward more improvement was noted for the acute group. Overall need for revision surgery was 12%, with a higher rate of revision in the acute group.
Conclusions: Hip arthroscopy in adolescent patients being treated for intra-articular pathology is a safe procedure with favorable outcomes at minimum 2-year follow-up, with no significant difference in final outcomes between patients with acute onset of symptoms as opposed to those with more a more chronic presentation. Reoperation rate may be higher in patients with an acute onset.