Patients With Borderline Hip Dysplasia Achieve Clinically Significant Improvement After Arthroscopic Femoroacetabular Impingement Surgery Commentary
Hip arthroscopy is an increasingly common treatment surgeons use to get inside a patient’s hip and treat diagnosed pathologies. For example, studies have demonstrated significant improvements in clinical outcomes following arthroscopy in those with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS), more commonly known as hip impingement. However, this may not be an efficacious treatment option for those with borderline hip dysplasia (BHD) as studies have previously reported concerning rates of failure, instability, and progression to osteoarthritis in these patients. BHD is an uncommon condition (under 13% of arthroscopic hip cases) where the hip socket (acetabulum) does not fully encapsulate the femoral head and is typically caused at birth. This can be seen, for example, when the socket is too shallow.
This study (1) compares the rates of achieving meaningful clinical outcomes between patients with and without BHD and (2) identifies the predictors for achieving clinical success among patients with BHD 5 years after undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery for FAIS. By looking through patient charts and analyzing patient-reported outcomes, the authors determined that there is no significant difference in the rates of achieving clinical success 5 years after undergoing arthroscopic treatment with capsular closure for FAIS between patients with BHD and those with normal acetabular coverage. Patients who self-reported as being physically active (particularly runners) or were female had had a higher chance of achieving excellent postoperative outcomes. Finally, less than 1% of patients failed treatment and underwent a subsequent hip replacement. The current investigation demonstrates that there may be surgical treatment options that can optimize the functional and clinical outcomes of those in this unique patient population in spite of the aforementioned concerns.
