Chondral hip injuries are common secondary to femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Treatment with arthroscopic procedures including chondroplasty and microfracture is becoming increasingly common but literature is limited to case series at specialist centres. The aim of this study is to compare outcomes of arthroscopic acetabular chondral procedures using the NAHR dataset (UK) which represents the largest series to date.

All adult Arthroscopies recorded in the NAHR from Jan 2012 were available for inclusion. Exclusions included significant arthritis and femoral, complex or revision chondral procedures. Patients completed iHOT-12 & EQ-5D Index pre-operatively, 6 and 12 months. Data was analysed using T-test/ANOVA for between group/within group for continuous variables, chi square test for categorical variables and linear regression model for multivariable analysis.

5,752 patients, 60% female. 27% Chondroplasty, 5% Microfracture, 68% no Chondral Procedure. Maximum acetabular Outerbridge classification 14% Grade 1, 15% Grade 2, 17% Grade 3, 8% Grade 4, 9% no damage, not recorded in 37%. Higher proportion of Cam impingement in association with chondral treatments and a larger proportion of patients with no impingement recorded in group with no chondral procedures. There was a significant improvement versus baseline for all groups in iHOT-12 and EQ-5D Index (p<0.0001) including Grade four Outerbridge. There was significantly greater improvement in pre-operative scores in the chondroplasty group compared to the microfracture group at 6 and 12 months (p<0.05).

Following hip arthroscopy, patients with chondral procedures experienced improved outcome scores despite Outerbridge 4 chondral damage. Presence of cam lesions are more commonly associated with chondral treatments. Good outcomes were maintained up to 12 months for chondral procedures, regardless of age or impingement pathology however pincers improved less and patients over 40 years took longer to see improvement.

Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) has been established as an effective technique to treat symptomatic hip dysplasia in young patients. Its role in treating borderline dysplasia and acetabular retroversion is evolving.

The aim of this study was to:

Examine the prospectively collected outcomes following a minimally invasive PAO in a large cohort of patients

This is a single-surgeon review of patients operated in a high-volume centre with prospectively collected data between 2013 and 2020, and minimal followup of six months. PAO was performed using a minimally invasive modified Smith Peterson approach. 387 patients were operated during the study period and 369 eligible patients included in the final analysis. Radiographic parameters were assessed by two authors (GS and KB) with interrater reliability for 25 patients of 84–95% (IntraClass Coefficient). Patient reported outcome measures (i-HOT 12, NAHS, UCLA and EQ-5D) were collected prospectively. Case note review was also performed to collate complication data and blood transfusion rates.

Radiological parameters improved significantly after surgery with Lateral centre-edge angle (LCEA) improving by 16.4 degrees and Acetabular index (AI) improved by 15.8 degrees.

Patient reported outcome measures showed significant improvement in post-op NAHS, iHOT and EQ5D at 2 years compared to pre-op scores (NAHS=30.45, iHOT=42, EQ5D=0.32, p=0.01). This significance is maintained over 2 years post procedure (p=0.001). There was no significant difference between the three groups (severe dysplasia, borderline dysplasia and acetabular retroversion).

Clinical outcomes showed an overall complication rate n=31, 8.3% (Major complication rate: n=3, 0.81%). Non-union rate: n=11, 2.96% of which 3 required fixation (0.81%). Hip arthroscopy post PAO: n=7, 1.9%. Conversion to THR: n=4, 1.1%. Blood transfusion requirement: n=46, 12.5%. No patient developed a major neurovascular injury.

In this large single-centre study, patients had radiological and reported outcome improvements following surgery. Overall, there was a low complication rate, providing further evidence of the safety and efficacy of PAO for ameliorating pain and long-lasting results in the management of symptomatic hip dysplasia.