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Chris Boone, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon located in Bellevue, WA & Redmond, WA
When the pain from hip labral tears and/or femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) inhibits your activities of daily living or ability to return to your favorite sport you may be a candidate for minimally invasive hip arthroscopy. If you have joint pain despite nonsurgical treatment, arthroscopy may be the next step for relieving your symptoms. Call the office of Dr. Christopher R. Boone in Bellevue, Washington, or book an appointment online.
Arthroscopy Q & A
What is arthroscopy?
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that allows Dr. Boone to examine your hip or knee joints, diagnose the cause of your symptoms, and possibly repair the problem. This surgery is done using an arthroscopic miniature camera fitted with lighting and specialized surgical tools that are all designed to fit through small incisions.
The smaller incisions cause less bleeding and promote a quicker recovery compared to traditional open surgery. Arthroscopy may be performed on nearly any joint. However, it’s most often used to diagnose and treat the knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist, ankle, and hip joints.
What conditions may require hip arthroscopy?
Dr. Boone may recommend hip arthroscopy when symptoms like pain and limited movement don’t improve with nonsurgical treatments. He often performs arthroscopy to repair two common conditions:
Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI)
FAI develops when extra bone grows along with one or both bones in the hip joint. This gives the bones an irregular shape that damages the joint. There are three types of FAI:
- Pincer: extra bone extends over the rim of the socket or acetabulum in the pelvis like a pincher on a crab claw.
- Cam deformity: the head or ball of the femur isn’t round and causes a mismatch in the circular socket. The bump on the edge damages the cartilage in the acetabulum. Think of a mismatched puzzle piece or the common “round peg in a square hole” phenomenon.
- Combined: both the pincer and cam deformities are present in the same patient
Labral tear
The labrum is a piece of cartilage that protects the rim of the hip socket. It improves joint stability by providing a negative suction seal to the ball and socket joint. A tear in the labrum is common inactive patients and when torn, can cause a significantly painful hip.