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Hip arthroscopy may be a reasonable treatment for labral tears
McCarthy JC. Clin Orthop Relat Res. doi:10.1007/s11999-010-1559-2.
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The results of a retrospective study show better survivorship after hip arthroplasty in patients with acetabular and femoral Outerbridge grades normal to II.
In their study, Joseph C. McCarthy, MD, and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston included 324 patients (340 hips) who underwent arthroscopy for pain and/or catching. One hundred-six patients (111 hips) had a minimum follow-up of 10 years. The average patient age was 39 years, and there were 47 men and 59 women.
The investigators noted patient age, gender, acetabular and femoral Outerbridge grade at surgery and whether patients had a labral tear. Follow-up was a nonarthritic hip score or the date of a subsequent total hip arthroplasty (THA). The investigators chose THA as the survivorship endpoint for the acetabular and femoral Outerbridge grades.
At 10 years, survivorship was 63%. For non-THA patients, the average nonarthritic hip score was 87.3. The investigators found that patients with normal to grade II acetabular and femoral Outerbridge grades had better survivorship. Age at arthroscopy and Outerbridge grades were independent predictors of eventual THA. Gender and having a labral tear did not affect long-term survivorship.
“The long-term survivorship of labral tears with low-grade cartilage damage indicates hip arthroscopy is reasonable for treating labral tears,” the authors wrote in their abstract.