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Hip pain is a common complaint in adolescents. There are several causes for hip pain in this population, with dysplasia and impingement being the most common; however, other conditions such as extra-articular impingement, torsional disorders, labral tears, and osteochondral lesions also require consideration. Many of these conditions are related to underlying anatomic abnormalities and increased activity in this age group. An understanding of the common pathologies of the adolescent hip is integral to the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of these patients.

Complications after hip arthroscopy vary in frequency and severity, even for experienced surgeons. It is important for surgeons to be aware of some of the more dramatic, often unusual, and always memorable (nightmarish) complications of hip arthroscopy and understand how they are caused, how they can be treated, and how they can be prevented.

Hip disorders in young patients likely exist as a spectrum of prearthritic and arthritic conditions. With the increasing recognition of these disorders, surgical options are being popularized and more patients are being treated at a younger age. Hip surgeons must develop a careful set of evidenced-based indications and follow surgical outcomes in a rigorous, scientific manner. Hip arthroscopy can be used to successfully treat some hip disorders, including labral tears, with or without femoroacetabular impingement, resulting in mechanical symptoms. Long-term outcomes after arthroscopy are determined by the condition of the cartilage at the time of surgery. Patients with preoperative radiographic evidence of moderate to severe arthritis have poor outcomes when treated with arthroscopy. Open joint preservation procedures (including periacetabular osteotomy and surgical hip dislocation with osteochondroplasty) can be done in the absence of substantial arthritis to treat hip dysplasia, femoroacetabular impingement, and related conditions. The results of these procedures are good in appropriately selected patients at short-term to midterm follow-ups. In the presence of severe arthritis, joint replacement is the treatment of choice. Total hip arthroplasty using uncemented acetabular and femoral fixation provides reliable osseointegration; however, long-term results in young patients have historically been compromised by bearing surface wear, osteolysis, and component loosening. Contemporary, highly cross-linked polyethylene and ceramic-on-ceramic bearings have durable results, low complication rates, and offer the potential of long-term survivorship in this high-demand population. In general, metal-on-metal implants have higher complication rates versus other bearing surface options and should be avoided. The best results of hip resurfacing are seen in men younger than 55 years with large femoral head sizes. Although implant survivorship is comparable to that of total hip arthroplasty, the sequelae of metal wear debris continue to cause concern.

The current treatment of painful hip dysplasia in the mature skeleton is based on acetabular reorientation. Reorientation procedures attempt to optimize the anatomic position of the hyaline cartilage of the femoral head and acetabulum in regard to mechanical loading. Because the Bernese periacetabular osteotomy is a versatile technique for acetabular reorientation, it is helpful to understand the approach and be familiar with the criteria for an optimal surgical correction. The femoral side bears stigmata of hip dysplasia that may require surgical correction. Improvement of the head-neck offset to avoid femoroacetabular impingement has become routine in many hips treated with periacetabular osteotomy. In addition, intertrochanteric osteotomies can help improve joint congruency and normalize the femoral neck orientation. Other new surgical techniques allow trimming or reducing a severely deformed head, performing a relative neck lengthening, and trimming or distalizing the greater trochanter.  An increasing number of studies have reported good long-term results after acetabular reorientation procedures, with expected joint preservation rates ranging from 80% to 90% at the 10-year follow-up and 60% to 70% at the 20-year follow-up. An ideal candidate is younger than 30 years, with no preoperative signs of osteoarthritis. Predicted joint preservation in these patients is approximately 90% at the 20-year follow-up. Recent evidence indicates that additional correction of an aspheric head may further improve results.

The goal of periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is to correct acetabular pathomorphology and restore a more normal interplay between the acetabulum and proximal femur. After PAO, the biomechanically improved hip joint is presumed to better resist the progression of degenerative joint disease. Isolated PAO without intra-articular inspection often will underestimate the extent of hip disease in young adults. If intra-articular inspection is not performed at the time of PAO, chondrolabral injuries and dysplastic hip pathologies associated with femoroacetabular impingement will not be detected. The interaction of the acetabulum with the proximal femur is critical, and the presence of iatrogenic femoroacetabular impingement can be assessed with intra-articular inspection at the time of PAO.

Over the past 10 years, the understanding, assessment, and management of hip pain and injuries in the athlete have improved. Traditionally, the evaluation of hip pain and injuries was limited to obvious disorders, such as hip arthritis and fractures, or disorders that were previously considered to be simply soft-tissue strains and contusions, such as groin pulls, hip pointers, and bursitis. Two parallel tracks of progress have improved understanding of the complexities of hip joint athletic injuries and the biomechanical basis of early hip disease. In the field of sports medicine, improved diagnostic skills now allow better interpretation of debilitating intra-articular hip disorders and their effects on core performance. In the field of hip preservation, there has been an evolution in understanding the effects of biomechanical mismatches between the femoral head and the acetabulum on the development of early hip damage, injury, and arthritis. The integration of these two parallel fields has accelerated the understanding of the importance of hip biomechanics and early hip injury in human performance and function.

Femoroacetabular impingement results from a lack of clearance between the femoral neck and the acetabulum. This condition is most commonly seen in the young adult presenting with hip pain after activity. There have been rapid advancements in the understanding of femoroacetabular impingement to include diagnostic, imaging, and treatment options. An open surgical dislocation approach has been developed that offers a safe and effective method to dislocate the hip and allow direct visualization and full access to treat the often complex intra-articular pathologies of femoroacetabular impingement. The ultimate goal of treatment in carefully selected patients is relief of hip pain and preservation of the hip joint.

Disorders of the hip joint can be physically disabling for the patient and a diagnostic challenge for the physician. Advances in imaging the hip with MRI can help the physician determine a more specific diagnosis for patients with acute or chronic hip pain. MRI and particularly magnetic resonance arthrography have helped raised awareness of nonarthritic hip problems and have made the diagnosis of hip problems much easier. Intra-articular and extra-articular processes can be evaluated with MRI; multiple sequences are available to increase the sensitivity and specificity for detecting specific pathology around the hip. Because the hip is a deep joint within a large soft-tissue envelope, MRI more precisely delineates the sources of hip pain by evaluating the soft tissues and ligamentous structures around the hip. It is helpful to understand the role of MRI in evaluating common pathologic conditions within the hip joint, including labral tears, chondral lesions, loose bodies, tears of the ligamentum teres, femoral acetabular impingement, developmental dysplasia of the hip, and pigmented villonodular synovitis. Hip arthroscopy, a less invasive technique for treating hip problems, has also contributed to the rapid growth of interest in this area of orthopaedic surgery. Hip arthroscopy can be used to evaluate disorders in the intra-articular region (central and peripheral compartments) and periarticular region (iliopsoas bursa and tendon disorders) as well as those in the peritrochanteric region.