[Treatment of FAI via a minimally invasive ventral approach with arthroscopic assistance. Technique and midterm results].

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) may be considered as an important cause of hip pain among young patients. A new surgical technique using a mini open anterior Hueter approach with arthroscopic assistance was developed in our department in 1999. The goal of our study was to evaluate the midterm clinical results and the quality of life after cam resection, rim trimming, and labrum refixation using this technique. The first 100 hips operated on using this technique were evaluated with the Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS) at a mean follow-up of 54 months. The mean age of the patients was 33.4 years, with 50 men and 47 women. At the last follow-up, the mean NAHS score increased significantly from 54.5+/-12 by 29.6 points to 84.3+/-16 (p<0.001). The clinical result was very good in 40 cases, good in 38 cases, fair in 8 cases, and poor in 14 patients. Eleven hips developed osteoarthrosis and finally had a total hip replacement. One patient had a femoral neck fracture at 3 weeks postoperatively. The best results were obtained in patients under 40 years of age (53 patients) and with a Tönnis osteoarthrosis grade of 0, 90% of whom had a very good or good result at a mean follow-up of 55 months. Refixation of the labrum was not significantly correlated with a higher NAHS (87+/-11 versus 82+/-19, p=0.13) at the last follow-up. Resection of cam FAI of the femoral head-neck junction using a mini anterior Hueter approach with arthroscopic assistance is a safe and effective technique in treating young adults with femoroacetabular impingement. This technique offers direct visualization of the anterior femoral head-neck junction and is less invasive than the surgical dislocation approach.