Outside-in arthroscopic psoas release for anterior iliopsoas impingement after primary total hip arthroplasty

1 of the causes of groin pain after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is impingement of the iliopsoas tendon. The purpose of this study was to present our results with outside-in arthroscopic tenotomy for iliopsoas impingement after THA.

We retrospectively reviewed 12 patients treated between 2009 and 2016 with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Anterior acetabular component prominence was measured on a true lateral hip radiograph. A transcapsular tenotomy was performed near the edge of the acetabular component through an outside-in arthroscopic approach. The primary clinical outcomes evaluated were groin pain, assessed with a visual analogue scale (VAS), and the Harris Hip Score (HHS). Secondary outcomes included strength of hip flexion, measured with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale.

All patients had groin pain improvement, though one patient continued to have moderate pain. The mean VAS score was significantly lower postoperatively (1.08) than preoperatively (6.2) (p < 0.001). The mean HHS improved from 58.8 (range, 37–76) to 86.1 (range, 59–98) (p = 0.001). The average postoperative MRC Scale was 4.58. The mean anterior prominence was 7.25 mm (range 3–12 mm). In patients with <10 mm of component prominence, tenotomy provided groin pain resolution in all cases (n = 8). In patients with ⩾10 mm of prominence, symptoms resolved in 3 out of 4 cases.

Outside-in arthroscopic iliopsoas release provided a high rate of success with no complications in this study, even in patients with moderate acetabular component prominence.