Hip joint arthroscopy in professionally active patients with osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: The primary endpoints of the study were to assess the effectiveness of hip joint arthroscopy in the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in patients with joint gap stenosis and to determine if and how quickly patients were able to return to work and physical activity.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The prospective study of patients undergoing hip joint arthroscopy due to pain in FAI has been conducted. They were divided into 2 groups depending on the degree of the radiological examination. The criterion was the width of the joint gap. The study group involved 47 patients with hip joint gap of 2-3 mm, identified by means of the standardized X-ray examination. The control group consisted of 45 patients with hip joint gap > 3 mm. The post-operative follow-up period of the patients lasted at least 2 years. In addition, the Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire together with Harris Hip Score (HHS) were applied. The patients were also evaluated for the post-operative time period enabling return to work.

RESULTS: All the patients after hip joint arthroscopy returned to normal physical activity within 12 weeks after operation, enabling their return to work. However, it should be noted that during the post-operative follow-up, pain sensations either recurred or did not regress in 37 patients in the study group and 12 patients in the control group after treatment. The nearly equal results of the WOMAC questionnaire and HHS before operation significantly vary between both groups in the last follow up. In the study group they did not change expressively.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite the little invasiveness, hip joint arthroscopy in patients with joint gap stenosis brings about the far from satisfactory results. This procedure is not worth considering. Despite unsatisfactory pain relief, patients decided to returned to work, due to their occupational position and for fear of losing the job due to long absenteeism.