Hip arthroscopy in the United States: an update following coding changes in 2011

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Hip Arthroscopy Research

Background:

• Hip arthroscopy has become a common procedure for hip pathologies.
• Understanding trends in procedure incidence and complexity is crucial for healthcare planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of hip arthroscopy procedures in the US before and after 2011.
• To assess if increased incidence correlates with more complex and diverse procedures.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a US public database of hip arthroscopy procedures (2007-2014).
• Categorization of procedures into 'traditional' and 'extended' codes, including CPT-29999 and femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) codes.
• Statistical analysis using unpaired student t-tests and z-score tests.

Main Results:

• Total hip arthroscopies increased by 117% (2007-2014) and 12.5% (2011-2014).
• Extended hip arthroscopy codes rose by 475%, significantly outpacing traditional codes (24%).
• Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) procedures increased by 55.7% (2011-2014), with labral repairs becoming more common than debridements in patients under 50 after 2011.

Conclusions:

• Hip arthroscopy incidence and procedural complexity are increasing in the US.
• The rise in FAI procedures and labral repairs in younger patients suggests advancements in surgical techniques and evidence-based practice.