Subspine Hypertrophy: Higher Incidence of Symptomatic versus Asymptomatic Hips in Patients with Unilateral...

To compare the difference of anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS) and subspine hypertrophic deformity between symptomatic and asymptomatic hips in patients traditionally diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), and investigate the correlation of subspine decompression with AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophic deformity.

We retrospectively reviewed 70 patients with unilateral symptomatic FAI who underwent hip arthroscopy. The operative hips and contralateral hips naturally formed the symptomatic groups and asymptomatic control groups, respectively. The morphometric comparison of the hip joint was performed between the operative and contralateral sides of each patient. Radiological assessment was performed by two observers (an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist and an experienced surgeon). Three-dimensional (3D)-CT images of each patient were blindly reviewed to determine the AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophic deformity. Reformatted two-dimensional (2D)-CT images and anterior-posterior (AP) pelvic plain radiographs were blindly reviewed to determine FAI-related morphological measurements. Moreover, the surgical assessment was reviewed by one experienced surgeon to interpret whether subspine decompression was performed. The correlation of subspine decompression with AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophy was analyzed.

Out of 70 patients with unilateral symptomatic FAI, 37 were males (52.9%) and 23 (32.9%) had symptoms involving the left hip. The mean age was 39.3 ± 10.4 years and the mean BMI was 24.3 ± 3.6. The distribution of AIIS variants in symptomatic hips did not differ significantly from that in asymptomatic hips (χ² = 3.092, P = 0.213). Twenty-nine hips in the symptomatic group (41.4%) and 12 hips in the asymptomatic group (17.1%) were identified as positive for subspine hypertrophy. The incidence of positive subspine hypertrophy was significantly higher in the symptomatic hips compared to the asymptomatic hips (χ² = 9.968, P = 0.002). FAI-related morphological parameters including α angle, lateral center-edge angle, acetabular anteversion, crossover sign, and Tonnis grade were highly symmetrical and did not show significant differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic hips. Fifty-four of 70 hips (77.1%) had labral tears extended to the acetabular rim corresponding to the AIIS. Forty-seven hips of 70 hips (67.1%) underwent subspine decompression, which was significantly correlated with AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophic deformity (P = 0.019 and 0.001, respectively).

Subspine hypertrophic deformity was found to be more common in symptomatic side vs asymptomatic side in patients with unilateral symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement. Subspine hypertrophy may be considered as an underlying indication for subspine decompression besides low-lying AIIS.