Acetabular and femoral radiographic abnormalities associated with labral tears

The purpose of our study was to define the incidence of acetabular and femoral osseous abnormalities associated with symptomatic acetabular labral tears. We reviewed the radiographs of 78 patients treated arthroscopically for labral tears and 22 patients with asymptomatic hips for comparison. Overall, 49% of patients with labral tears had at least one radiographic abnormality (17% acetabular, 14% femoral, and 18% both). Hip dysplasia was more prevalent in patients with labral tears (36%) compared with control subjects (0%). A decreased head-neck offset was present in 18% of patients with labral tears versus 5% of the control subjects. An anterolateral prominence at the femoral head-neck junction, creating an aspherical femoral head, was present in 29% of patients with labral tears. Sixty-one percent of those patients also met criteria for dysplasia and/or decreased head-neck offset. A retroverted acetabulum was present in 12% of patients with labral tears and none of the control subjects. Osteoarthritis was more common in patients with labral tears (33%) than in control subjects (9%). Because acetabular and femoral osseous abnormalities commonly are associated with labral tears, recognition of these abnormalities is important to optimize surgical treatment of patients with symptomatic labral disease.

Diagnostic study, Level II (development of diagnostic criteria on consecutive patients-with universally applied reference "gold" standard). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.