Arthroscopic treatment of chronically painful calcific tendinitis of the rectus femoris

BACKGROUND Relatively large calcific tendinitis with persistent symptoms after extended periods of conservative treatment is an indication for operative therapy. Arthroscopy, as a treatment for calcific tendinitis of the hip abductors and calcinosis circumscripta, has been described previously; however, to our knowledge, the clinical and radiological response to arthroscopic removal of calcific tendinitis of the rectus femoris tendon has not. METHODS We present arthroscopic treatment of unusual calcific tendonitis of the origin of the rectus femoris and associated intra-articular lesions in 3 patients with chronic coxa pain. RESULTS Our cases show that hip arthroscopy is an effective therapeutic modality for calcific tendinitis of the hip joint with satisfactory short-term outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Calcific tendinitis, although an uncommon clinical entity, should be a part of the differential diagnosis of acute or chronic hip pain.