Arthroscopic Treatment of Cam Type Femoroacetabular Impingement: Short Term Results

Abstract

Purpose: We evaluated the short term results after treatment of cam type femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) by arthroscopy. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the clinical and radiological results of arthroscopically treated cam type FAI in patients who had failed conservative treatment with hip pain, with at least 12 months follow-up, from November 2010 to December 2012. There were 19 males and six females. Mean age of patients was 32.9 years (19-57 years) and mean follow up period was 17.2 months (13-31 months). We analyzed the alpha angle, head neck offset, visual analogue scale (VAS), and modified Harris hip score (MHHS). Results: Mean alpha angle improved from 64.8。to 39.9。and mean head neck offset also improved from 0.8 to 7.6 mm. Peripheral longitudinal and radial fibrillated labral tear was the most common in the anterosuperior quadrant. Damage to acetabular cartilage was identified in 14 patients. Mean VAS improved from 6.3 to 0.9 and mean MHHS improved from 51.7 to 73.6. Complications associated with the operation included three cases of femoral head articular cartilage injury, two cases of pudendal nerve injury, and two cases of lateral femoral cutaneous nerve injury. Conclusion: Although the short term results for arthroscopically treated cam type FAI were satisfactory, care must be taken to reduce the complications associated with arthroscopy and long term follow is needed in order to determine whether or not it can reduce osteoarthritis of the hip.