Acetabular labral tears: result of arthroscopic partial limbectomy

Acetabular labral tears are a rare but well recognized cause of hip symptoms in young adults. Both clinical and radiographic diagnoses are difficult. The treatment of choice in the past has been either conservative or open arthrotomy. Hip arthroscopy has proved to be an effective tool for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in patients with chronic hip pain refractory to conservative treatment. We reviewed a series of 76 arthroscopic limbectomies. All patients had experienced hip symptoms for more than 6 months. None responded to nonsurgical treatment. Results were evaluated with the Harris Hip Score and with a questionnaire. Fifty-eight cases had a mean 3.5 years follow-up (range, 24 to 61 months). Thirty-nine patients (67.3%) were pleased with the result of their operation. The remaining 19 (32.7%) were not satisfied. Arthroscopy is an effective noninvasive procedure for the assessment and treatment of labral lesions. Short-term follow-up shows encouraging results.