Arthroscopic repair of acetabular chondral delamination with fibrin adhesive.

Acetabular chondral delamination is a frequent finding at hip arthroscopy. The cartilage is macroscopically normal but disrupted from the subchondral bone. Excision of chondral flaps is the usual procedure for this type of lesion. However, we report 19 consecutive patients in whom the delaminated chondral flap was re-attached to the underlying subchondral bone with fibrin adhesive. We used the modified Harris hip score for assessment of pain and function. Improvement in pain and function was found to be statistically significant six months and one year after surgery. No local or general complications were noted. Three patients underwent further surgery for unrelated reasons. In each, the area of fibrin repair appeared intact and secure. Our results suggest that fibrin is a safe agent to use for acetabular chondral delamination.