Arthroscopic treatment of mild to moderate deformity after slipped capital femoral epiphysis: intra-operative findings and functional outcomes.

PURPOSE: To identify intra-articular pathology during arthroscopic osteochondroplasty for slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE)-related femoroacetabular impingement and determine functional outcomes after treatment.

METHODS

Nine hips in 9 patients (6 male and 3 female patients; mean age, 17.5 years; age range, 13.5 to 26.9 years) underwent hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement after in situ pinning of the SCFE. Medical records, radiographs, and intraoperative images were reviewed to determine the severity of disease and damage to the hip joints. For all patients, we obtained the modified Harris Hip Score and Hip Outcome Score (HOS) preoperatively and at a minimum of 12 months postoperatively, as well as a Likert scale of perceived change in physical activity.

RESULTS

All 9 treated patients had some degree of labral or acetabular cartilage injury at the time of arthroscopy, which was a mean of 58.6 months (range, 18 to 169 months) after in situ pinning. The alpha angle improved from 75° preoperatively to 46° postoperatively (P < .001). The mean follow-up period was 28.6 months (range, 12.6 to 55.6 months). The mean modified Harris Hip Score improved from 63.6 preoperatively to 91.4 postoperatively (P = .005). Similarly, the mean HOS activities-of-daily living scale improved from 70.2 to 93.3 (P = .010), and the HOS sports scale improved from 53.4 to 88.9 (P = .004). Most patients reported significant improvement on a physical-activity Likert scale, with 4 reporting much improved, 3 reporting improved, and 1 reporting slightly improved physical activity. One patient reported an unchanged activity level. No patients reported a worse activity level after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Post-SCFE cartilage and/or labral damage develops in patients with symptomatic mild to moderate SCFE deformity, and arthroscopic treatment improved functional outcomes in a small cohort of patients at short-term follow-up.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic case series.