Orthopedics Today publishes an expert perspective by HSS hip and knee surgeon Alexander S. McLawhorn, MD, MBA, in response to a study that showed patients younger than 30 years of age had a higher revision rate and patients older than 50 years of age had a higher conversion rate to total hip arthroplasty (THA), despite a plateau in the rate of hip arthroscopy procedures.

For the study, researchers identified 53,103 patients in the Mariner PearlDiver dataset who underwent hip arthroscopy from 2010 to 2017.

Dr. McLawhorn cited that the overall reoperation rate within 2 years of the index hip arthroscopy procedure was high at 19%, stating, “It is interesting to note that women and patients aged 40 to 49 years were the most common groups of patients to receive hip arthroscopy in this study.”

Further, Dr. McLawhorn’s opinion is that hip arthroscopy should not be performed if there is underlying hip osteoarthritis. He explained, “Approximately two-thirds of Medicare-aged patients with hip arthritis undergoing hip arthroscopy will require conversion to THA within 2 years of the arthroscopy, and the risk of THA failure is nearly four times that of patients without having prior arthroscopy.”

Dr. McLawhorn concluded: “Despite the limitations of an observational study using an insurance claims database, I think this study underscores the importance of a careful preoperative assessment to identify accurately the pain generator within and around the hip joint, with scrutiny of the hip joint for underlying arthritic change, particularly in patients older than 40 years of age.”

Read the full article and perspective at Healio.com.