Midterm Outcomes of Staged Bilateral Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome Show Comparable Outcomes Between Time Interval More or Less Than 12 Months of Bilateral Procedures.

PURPOSE: To investigate the midterm clinical outcomes of bilateral hip arthroscopic treatment in patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome and to determine whether the time between procedures more or less than 12 months affects outcomes.

METHODS

A consecutive cohort of patients diagnosed with bilateral femoroacetabular impingement syndrome and underwent staged bilateral hip arthroscopy between 2011 and 2020 was included in the study. Exclusion criteria included prior hip surgery, hip osteoarthritis, simultaneous revision hip arthroscopy, and other concomitant hip conditions. Preoperative and minimum 5-year patient-reported outcomes were collected including Visual Analog Scale, modified Harris Hip Score, Non-Arthritic Hip Scope, International Hip Outcome Tool-12, Hip Outcome Score-Activity of Daily Living Scale, Hip Outcome Score-Sport-Specific Subscale, and University of California at Los Angeles score. Patient satisfaction, complications, and revision rate were documented. Rates of achieving the minimal clinically important difference and patient acceptable symptom state were determined. Correlation and subgroup analyses were performed to determine the effect of the time interval between bilateral procedures being more or less than 12 months.

RESULTS

A total of 59 patients (118 hips) were included in the study, with a minimum follow-up time of 5 years. All patient-reported outcomes showed significant improvements at the final follow-up (P < .001). Eight patients (13.6%) underwent revision hip arthroscopy. Comparable clinical outcomes and rates of achieving minimal clinically important difference (>70%) and patient acceptable symptom state (>60%) were found between patients who underwent bilateral procedures less or more than 12 months apart, with a similar follow-up duration of over 5 years (not significant).

CONCLUSIONS

Staged bilateral hip arthroscopy for bilateral femoroacetabular impingement syndrome yields favorable clinical outcomes with symptom relief and hip functional improvement at a minimum follow-up time of 5 years. A time interval of <12 months or >12 months between bilateral procedures did not affect clinical outcomes and revision rate.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective cohort study.