Surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement using controlled hip dislocation after occurrence of slipped capital femoral epiphysis☆

OBJECTIVE To present our experience and preliminary results from using controlled hip dislocation to treat cam-like femoroacetabular impingement, in teenagers and young adults with sequelae of slipped capital femoral epiphysis. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis on 15 patients who were treated in a tertiary-level hospital between 2011 and 2013. The following data were collected for analysis from these patients' files: demographic data, surgical procedure reports, joint mobility evaluations, patients' perceptions regarding clinical improvement and whether they would choose to undergo the operation again, previous hip surgery and complications. The exclusion criteria were: follow-up shorter than six months, the presence of any other hip disease, osteotomy of the proximal femur performed at the same time as the osteochondroplasty and incomplete medical files with regard to the information needed for the present study. RESULTS Fifteen patients (17 hips) who underwent osteochondroplasty to treat femoroacetabular impingement were evaluated. Nine of them were women, the mean age was 18 years old and the minimum follow-up was two years. Two patients underwent osteochondroplasty bilaterally; eight patients were operated on the left side and five on the right side. In 14 cases, the greater trochanter was lowered (relative lengthening of the neck) in association with the osteochondroplasty. For 13 patients, their previous surgery consisted of fixation of an occurrence of slipped capital femoral epiphysis; for six patients (eight hips), flexor osteotomy was performed previously; and for one patient, hip arthroscopy was performed previously. Fourteen patients presented improvement of mobility and hip pain relief, in comparison with before the operation, and they said that they would undergo the operation again. Two complications were observed: one of loosening of the fixation of the greater trochanter and one of heterotopic ossification. CONCLUSION The preliminary results from this study suggest that osteochondroplasty through controlled surgical hip dislocation is a good option for treating femoroacetabular impingement. Through this method, the patients reported achieving improvement of joint mobility and hip pain, with few complications.