Femoroacetabular Impingement: Do Outcomes Reliably Improve with Surgical Dislocations?

Matt L. Graves, Jeff W. Mast
Symposium: Femoroacetabular Impingement: Current Status of Diagnosis and Treatment
Volume 467, Issue 3 / March , 2008

Abstract on SpringerLink | Full article HTML | Full article PDF

Download Citation

Abstract

Femoroacetabular impingement is a motion-based concept of conflict that occurs secondary to morphologic abnormalities of the proximal femur and/or acetabulum. Creating impingement-free motion through restoration of normal morphology serves as the goal of joint-preserving procedures. We retrospectively reviewed the short-term functional and radiographic outcomes of 46 patients (48 hips) with femoroacetabular impingement treated with a surgical dislocation and restoration of offset. The average Merle D’Aubigné-Postel score improved from a preoperative of 13 (range, 7–16 ± 1.7) to a postoperative score of 16.8 (range, 12–18 ± 1.3). Creating impingement-free motion via a surgical dislocation improves symptoms in patients with limited radiographic signs of arthritis who are experiencing impingement-related hip pain.

Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Go to Issue Contents