Survey results from an international hip course: comparison between experts and non-experts on hip arthroscopy clinical practice and post-operative rehabilitation

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical practices between expert and non-expert arthroscopy hip surgeons.

Registered orthopedic surgeons completed anonymous surveys during a hip arthroscopy meeting. The survey included 60 questions on physician's level of expertise, surgical anesthesia, procedures performed, hospital stay, pain control, rehabilitation and socioeconomic parameters, and the results are presented. Comparisons were made between hip arthroscopy experts (> 500 cases performed) and non-experts (≤ 500 cases performed) on aspects of patient care.

Forty-eight (74%) surgeons responded. Forty-four questionnaires were filled out completely. There were no significant differences in recommendations between 15 (34%) hip arthroscopy experts and 29 (66%) non-experts on hip capsular management and cartilage repair techniques, use of antithrombotic prophylaxis and opioid analgesics, time of rehabilitation initiation and patient compliance factors, use of hip brace and CPM, and patient evaluation to return to sports following surgery. Surgical expertise was significantly associated with the performance of hip labral reconstruction (p = 0.016), subspine decompression (p = 0.039) and recommendation of a longer period of restricted weight bearing following the performance of microfractures (p = 0.011). There were no significant differences in clinical practice between surgeons who performed hip arthroscopy exclusively versus those who did not.

Hip arthroscopy is a relatively new field, and clinical practice may vary among physicians based on the surgical expertise. In this study, hip arthroscopy experts agree with non-experts on most aspects of patient care. Surgical expertise was associated with performance of advanced techniques and recommendation of longer period of restricted weight bearing following performance of microfractures. This study highlights different care patterns that need to be investigated to determine which treatment results in improved patient care.

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