EP6.57 The Principles of Hip Joint Preservation

The three primary factors involved with preservation of the hip joint include femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), hip dysplasia, and femoral torsion abnormalities. Each of these factors affects the health of the acetabular labrum and femoroacetabular cartilage.

The appropriate surgical treatments for each of these factors include arthroscopic or open femoroplasty/acetabuloplasty for FAI, periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) for hip dysplasia, and de-rotational femoral osteotomy (DFO) for femoral torsion abnormalities. When evaluating patients with pre-arthritic hip conditions, orthopaedic surgeons should be aware of the various factors involved in hip joint preservation and, if surgery is indicated, the surgeon should be sure to address all factors that need surgical treatment rather than focusing on the commonly diagnosed issue or visible injury e.g. a labral tear.

If any of these factors is ignored, the hip joint will not thrive. The purpose of this abstract is to explain the importance of the factors involved in hip joint preservation and the appropriate treatments for pathology in any of these factors.