Concurrent surgical repair demonstrates favorable short-term clinical outcomes in patients with labral tears and concomitant hip rotator cuff injuries: a 2-year propensity score-matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Acetabular labral tears and hip rotator cuff injuries frequently coexist and present with overlapping symptoms, posing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. However, outcomes of simultaneous arthroscopic repair for these combined pathologies remain unclear. This study evaluated short-term outcomes after arthroscopic hip rotator cuff repair performed concurrently with acetabular labral repair vs. labral repair, while describing surgical considerations and characterizing the demographic and clinical features of concomitant injuries.

METHODS: In this retrospective matched-cohort study, patients who underwent primary arthroscopic concomitant repair of acetabular labral tears and hip rotator cuff injuries between September 2019 and September 2023 were identified. These patients were matched in a 1:2 ratio based on sex, age (±2 years), and body mass index (BMI, ±5 kg/m2) to patients who underwent arthroscopic labral repair alone. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were evaluated preoperatively and at 2-year follow-up, utilizing the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), International Hip Outcome Tool-12 (iHOT-12), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain. Secondary outcomes included the proportions of patients achieving the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and the patient acceptable symptom state (PASS).

RESULTS: Thirty-one patients underwent arthroscopic repair of hip rotator cuff injuries with concomitant labral repair (83.87% female; mean age, 52.13 ± 7.47 years; mean BMI, 28.33 ± 5.42), and were matched to 62 patients who underwent labral repair alone (83.87% female; mean age, 51.97 ± 7.21 years; mean BMI, 28.50 ± 5.35). Baseline characteristics, including age, sex, BMI, preoperative imaging findings, and preoperative PROs, were comparable between the groups (all P > 0.05). At the 2-year follow-up, both cohorts demonstrated significant improvement in all PROs compared with preoperative values (all P < 0.001), with no significant intergroup differences in postoperative PRO scores (all P > 0.05). The proportions of patients achieving the MCID and PASS were comparable between the groups (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing arthroscopic hip rotator cuff repair with concomitant labral repair, no significant differences in short-term clinical outcomes were observed compared to those undergoing arthroscopic labral repair alone, indicating that simultaneous arthroscopic repair yields favorable short-term results.