Hip abductor tendon tears-a survey of New Zealand orthopaedic surgeons.

AIMS: Hip abductor tendon tears are a common cause of chronic hip pain and a difficult problem to manage. The aim of this survey is to establish the level of recognition by New Zealand orthopaedic surgeons and identify the challenges in treating abductor tendon repairs.

METHODS

An online survey was sent to 215 consultant orthopaedic surgeons in New Zealand with a registered interest in hip surgery. The survey consisted of five questions regarding the diagnosis, management and clinical challenges related to hip abductor tendon tears.

RESULTS

Eighty-six of 204 eligible surgeons (42.2%) completed the survey. Almost all (90%) of respondents have diagnosed abductor tendon tears and over half (59%) have performed hip abductor tendon tears in their practice. The most common indication for repair was pain (35%), followed by functional weakness (29%), and the most common repair technique involved transosseous repair through the greater trochanter (41%), closely followed by suture anchors (37%). The majority of surgeons identified a need for novel biologics and tissue augments for improving repair.

CONCLUSIONS

Hip abductor tendon tears were identified as a pertinent clinical problem in this survey. An improvement in the fundamental pathological understanding of disease and greater availability of proven biologics and tissue augments are required.