Mini-open approach for femoroacetabular impingement: 10 years experience and evolved indications

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) has been proposed as a possible cause of early osteoarthritis of the hip. The treatment of this condition and its related lesions can be performed by 3 methods: surgical dislocation of the hip; pure arthroscopic; and anterior mini-open technique with or without arthroscopic assistance.We describe the anterior mini-open technique and report our experience over the last decade in the treatment of FAI and different associated pathologies of the hip.This technique was found to be safe and reliable, allowing tissue preservation and providing a clinical improvement similar to the purely arthroscopic-treated patient, even in complex cases.According to our experience there are several presentations of FAI and associated hip conditions, where other authors advocate surgical dislocation, which can be conducted through a mini-open approach when increased surgical skills are reached. Moreover, this technique was found to be useful as an additional tool to consider, even for surgeons involved in the arthroscopic learning curve.