Operative treatment of femoroacetabular impingement

Femoroacetabular impingement is a common pathologic disorder of the hip that causes pain and has been implicated in the development of early osteoarthritis in young adults. This disorder includes 2 different subtypes: cam impingement and pincer impingement. When nonsurgical treatment methods fail, surgical options are indicated. These options have been increasingly investigated over recent years and show promising results. Several surgical techniques have been described, including surgical dislocation of the hip, mini-open procedures, hip arthroscopy, and periacetabular osteotomies. Nevertheless, the preferred mode of surgical management of femoroacetabular impingement remains a source of controversy. Only short-term and midterm outcome data are available regarding the efficacy of these surgical techniques. This review details 5 approaches for surgical management of femoroacetabular impingement: open surgical dislocation, a combined arthroscopic and open approach, hip arthroscopy, a mini-open anterior approach, and periacetabular osteotomy. It focuses specifically on surgical technique, outcomes, and their efficacy in treatment of femoroacetabular impingement.