Simultaneous Versus Staged Bilateral Hip Arthroscopy in the Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement.

Abstract

To compare the clinical outcomes and complication rates of patients undergoing simultaneous versus staged bilateral hip arthroscopy for bilateral symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Between 2010 and 2013, a total of 1,800 hip arthroscopy cases were retrospectively reviewed for cases of simultaneous bilateral hip arthroscopy. All patients with minimum 1-year follow-up were included. This group was matched 1:2 for age, sex, and alpha angle, to a control group of patients who underwent staged, bilateral procedures. Patient-reported outcome scores, including the Modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), the Hip Outcome Score-Activity of Daily Living (HOS-ADL), and the Hip Outcome Score-Sport-Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS) were obtained preoperatively at 6 months and 1 and 2 years postoperatively. Eighty-one patients (162 hips) were identified who underwent bilateral hip arthroscopy for symptomatic FAI. Twelve patients (24 hips) who underwent simultaneous bilateral arthroscopy with minimum 1-year follow-up were compared with a matched cohort of 24 patients (48 hips) who underwent staged bilateral procedures. Mean preoperative alpha angle was 65.3° ± 9.6° in the simultaneous group and 65.9° ± 11.2° in the staged group (P = .6). At a mean follow-up of 17.8 months (range, 12 to 33 months), there were comparable improvements in simultaneous versus staged patient-reported outcome scores (mHHS 90.8 ± 11 v 88.9 ± 12.5, P = .662; HOS-ADL 97.3 ± 3.8 v 92.6 ± 10.3, P = .057; HOS-SSS 93.3 ± 10.2 v 86.5 ± 16.6, P = .203). The mean single anesthetic traction time was 90.8 ± 21.9 minutes (sum of both hips) in the simultaneous group, compared with a combined 2-anesthetic traction time of 85.7 ± 27.2 minutes in the staged group (P = .579). There were no traction-related complications in either group. No patients in the simultaneous group required revision surgery, whereas 1 patient in the staged group required lysis of adhesions at 24 months postoperatively. In a small sample, simultaneous bilateral hip arthroscopy is shown to be safe and effective, resulting in similar improvements in patient-reported outcomes at 1-year follow-up compared with staged bilateral procedures. Level III, case-control study.