Arthroscopic findings following traumatic hip dislocation in 14 professional athletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate intra-articular hip joint pathologies in professional athletes who sustained dislocation and were treated with hip arthroscopy.

Between August 23, 2000, and September 15, 2006, 14 professional athletes (12 male and 2 female) sustained a nonfracture traumatic hip dislocation during active competition and were treated by a single surgeon. A retrospective chart review of this cohort was done to report the intra-articular hip pathologies identified at the time of arthroscopy.

The average time from dislocation to relocation was 3.56 hours. The mean time from dislocation to surgery was 125 days (range, 0 to 556 days). The average age at the time of arthroscopy was 30.5 years (range, 16 to 46 years). All patients had labral tears. All patients had chondral defects. Two had isolated femoral head chondral defects, 6 had isolated acetabular chondral defects, and 6 had chondral defects on both surfaces. Eleven patients had loose osteochondral fragments. Eleven patients had partial or complete tears of the ligamentum teres. Nine patients had evidence of femoroacetabular impingement; 4 had isolated cam lesions, 1 had an isolated pincer lesion on the acetabular rim, and 4 patients had mixed type pathology. Two patients had capsulolabral adhesions. Two patients had a capsular tear. Additionally, 3 patients underwent intraoperative evaluation of the lateral epiphyseal vessels with Doppler imaging to confirm good blood flow to the femoral head with consistent pulse.

The results of this study show that traumatic dislocation is accompanied by a variety of intra-articular hip joint pathologies, the most common being labral, chondral, intra-articular loose fragments, and disruption of the ligamentum teres.