by Óliver Marín-Peña, MD.
In recent years, the hip arthroscopy surgical technique has become more popular in the orthopaedic community. One might say it is “in fashion” now. That may be due to the fact that orthopaedic surgeons are naturally curious about new methods and a less invasive hip joint procedure is an attractive concept to explore.
If you attend arthroscopy meetings, there are basically two types of orthopaedic surgeons who are interested in hip arthroscopy. There is the hip arthroplasty surgeon, who is an expert in the diagnosis and management of hip pathology with open surgery, but is not as skilled in arthroscopic techniques. There is also the surgeon who is focused mainly on sports medicine and is highly skilled in arthroscopic procedures, but lacks experience with global management of hip problems.
From the sport medicine physician’s point of view, hip arthroscopy is not too diffi- cult and is similar to shoulder arthroscopy. Although this frequently heard comment is partially true, and some similarities have been shown between hip and shoulder arthroscopy, significant differences have been observed between the two in terms of biomechanics. Orthopaedists with these opinions about hip arthroscopy are found at centers today and individuals with both mindsets could be simultaneously contributing to the growing popularity of the pro- cedure. (…)
Read the full article in the October 2013 issue of the EFORT OTE newsletter
