Prevalence and Clinical Implications of Chondral Injuries After Hip Arthroscopic Surgery for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

Background: Studies on the effect of partial- and full-thickness chondral damage of the hip on outcomes and the ability to achieve meaningful clinical outcomes are limited.

Purpose: To determine the effect of full- and partial-thickness chondral injuries on 2-year outcomes in patients undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) compared with patients without chondral damage, and to identify significant predictors of achieving the patient acceptable symptomatic state (PASS) and minimal clinically important difference (MCID).

Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: Data from consecutive patients with evidence of chondromalacia at the time of primary hip arthroscopic surgery with routine capsular closure for the treatment of FAIS by a single fellowship-trained surgeon between January 2012 and September 2016 were reviewed. Patients were divided into groups with partial-thickness (grade I-III) or full-thickness (grade IV) chondral defects and matched by age and body mass index (BMI) to patients without chondral injuries. Preoperative and postoperative outcomes were compared among the 3 groups, and a binary logistic regression analysis was utilized to identify significant predictors of achieving the MCID and PASS.

Results: There were 634 patients included in the analysis, with a mean age of 34.5 ± 10.9 years and a mean BMI of 25.2 ± 4.7 kg/m. A total of 493 (77.8%) patients had no evidence of chondral damage, 92 (14.5%) patients had partial-thickness chondral defects, and 49 (7.7%) patients had full-thickness chondral defects. There were statistically significant differences in the Hip Outcome Score (HOS)-Activities of Daily Living, HOS-Sports Subscale, modified Harris Hip Score, pain, and satisfaction ( < .01) among the 3 groups. Patients with grade IV chondromalacia experienced the poorest outcomes and lowest percentage of achieving the PASS. Predictors for achieving any PASS threshold included preoperative alpha angle (odds ratio [OR], 0.96; = .016), absence of preoperative limping (OR, 7.25; = .002), absence of preoperative chronic pain (OR, 5.83; = .019), primary hip arthroscopic surgery (OR, 0.17; = .050), patients who self-identified as runners (OR, 2.27; = .037), and Tönnis grade 0 (OR, 2.86; = .032). Male sex (OR, 2.49; = .015) was the only predictor of achieving any MCID threshold.

Conclusion: Patients with grade IV chondral defects experienced worse functional outcomes, lower satisfaction, and increased pain when compared with both patients without chondral damage or grade I-III chondromalacia at 2-year follow-up. Several predictors were associated with achieving clinically significant function in patients undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery for FAIS.