Prevalence and Clinical Implications of Chondral Injuries After Hip Arthroscopic Surgery for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome
Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) is a devastating condition that can cause pain and impact quality of life. While the biomechanics of the hip causing the impingement can be addressed, less is known about how damaged cartilage (often called chondromalacia) impacts the results of FAIS surgery. It has been previously reported that arthroscopic treatment of FAIS in patients with mild osteoarthritis can result in similar clinical improvements to those with no osteoarthritis which is important to prevent the need for a hip replacement surgery in the younger population. However, there is limited research on how greater degrees of cartilage injury affect patient reported outcomes and create a clinically important difference in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. To address this knowledge gap, the authors analyzed various outcome scores from patients who had no, mild-moderate, and severe cartilage damage in the hip. They found that patients going into surgery with severe cartilage damage experienced worse functional outcomes, lower satisfaction, and increased pain when compared with both patients with no cartilage damage and mild-moderate cartilage damage after two years of follow up. Secondly, they also found that people coming into clinic without a limp, did not have chronic pain, and those who identified as runners were good predictors to having exceptional surgical results.