Duration Between Staged Bilateral Hip Arthroscopy Does Not Affect Outcomes in Patients With Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether the duration between staged bilateral hip arthroscopy affects patient-reported outcomes, the rate of arthroscopic revision, or conversion to total hip arthroplasty.

METHODS: A retrospective comparative case series was conducted of a single-surgeon prospective database of patients who underwent hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome with a minimum of 2-year follow-up. Modified Harris Hip Score and Nonarthritic Hip Score were recorded preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively for each hip. For analysis, patients were allocated into 2 groups: staged procedures <1 year apart and ≥1 year apart.

RESULTS: A total of 76 patients (152 hips) underwent staged bilateral primary hip arthroscopies. Overall, the mean age at the first surgery was 36.1 ± 13.1 years and the cohort was 59.2% women. Of these, 43 patients (56.6%) underwent staged procedures <1 year apart, whereas 33 patients (43.4%) were staged 1 year apart. Age (P = .092), sex (P = .828), and body mass index (P = .867) did not significantly differ between groups. At 2-year follow-up, modified Harris Hip Score (first hip: 85.2 ± 17.9 vs 82.5 ± 13.3, P = .588; second hip: 84.7 ± 19.3 vs 79.3 ± 16.0, P = .514) and Nonarthritic Hip Score (first hip: 85.3 ± 19.1 vs 83.2 ± 12.4, P = .660; second hip: 86.5 ± 22.8 vs 84.9 ± 12.2, P = .823) were similar between groups staged <1 year and ≥1 year. There were no significant differences in rates of revision arthroscopy (7.0% vs 12.1%, P = .460) or conversion to total hip arthroplasty (4.7% vs 3.0%, P > .999) between groups staged <1 year and ≥1 year. Based on logistic regression, the duration between hip arthroscopy stages was not associated with the risk of arthroscopic failure (odds ratio: 1.29, P = .227).

CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences in patient-reported outcomes, rates of revision arthroscopy, and conversion to total hip arthroplasty between patients who underwent staged bilateral hip arthroscopy less than or greater than 1 year apart. Duration of time between staged procedures was not found to affect rates of arthroscopic failure.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective comparative case series.