What is hip arthroscopy?
Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgery designed to preserve your original hip. Hip arthroscopy allows the surgeon to work inside and around the hip joint through two or three small incisions no bigger than your pinky nail. A small video camera called an arthroscope is inserted into the hip joint to help the surgeon look for damage, assess the type of injury, and repair the problem simultaneously. This small camera then guides the surgeon as they use small instruments to treat the issue.
Hip arthroscopy is used to diagnose and treat various hip conditions, with examples including:
- Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI)
- Removal of loose bodies (torn cartilage or bone pieces)
- Repair a torn labrum (the fibrous cartilage ring that lines the acetabular socket)
- Removal of bone spurs or extra bone growths caused by arthritis or an injury
- Removal of part of the inflamed synovium (lining of the joint) in patients with inflammatory arthritis (This procedure is called a partial synovectomy.)
- Repair of fractures or torn ligaments caused by trauma
- Evaluation and diagnosis of conditions with unexplained pain, swelling, or stiffness in the hip that does not respond to conservative treatment
Advantages of hip arthroscopy include the following:
- Outpatient surgery
- Small incisions
- Minimal trauma to surrounding ligaments, muscles, and tissues
- Less pain
- Faster recovery
- Lower infection rate
- Less scarring
- Earlier mobilization
Meet Dr. Fortun
Wilmington Health’s Chad M. Fortun, MD, MS, is a specialist in treating hip pain through hip preservation. In addition to being board-certified and fellowship-trained, Dr. Fortun has had additional training in hip arthroscopy from some of the best and busiest hip arthroscopists in the country. Dr. Fortun has brought that experience and expertise to the Cape Fear region as the area’s only hip arthroscopist over the last six years. Over that period of time, he has developed a thriving sports medicine and hip arthroscopy practice, performing over 100 hip arthroscopies per year. While shoulder and knee arthroscopy has been widely used over the last 30 years, hip arthroscopy continues to grow. Advances in instrumentation and technique have allowed this to become a generally successful type of surgery, but skill and experience are required to achieve optimal results.