Hip preservation

Classical indications for hip preserving surgery are: femoro-acetabular impingement (FAI) (intra- and extra-articular), hip dysplasia, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, residual deformities after Perthes disease, avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Pre-operative evaluation of the pathomorphology is crucial for surgical planning including radiographs as the basic modality and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT) to evaluate further intra-articular lesions and osseous deformities. Two main mechanisms of intra-articular impingement have been described: (1) Inclusion type FAI (‘cam type’). (2) Impaction type FAI (‘pincer type’). Either arthroscopic or open treatment can be performed depending on the severity of deformity. Slipped capital femoral epiphysis often results in a cam-like deformity of the hip. In acute cases a subcapital re-alignment (modified Dunn procedure) of the femoral epiphysis is an effective therapy. Perthes disease can lead to complex femoro-acetabular deformity which predisposes to impingement with/without joint incongruency and requires a comprehensive diagnostic workup for surgical planning. Developmental dysplasia of the hip results in a static overload of the acetabular rim and early osteoarthritis. Surgical correction by means of periacetabular osteotomy offers good long-term results. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2020;5:630-640. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.190074