Hip preservation surgery —  or hip joint preservation — includes minimally invasive techniques and less-invasive traditional reconstruction procedures to restore original hip function. 

IIn addition to pain relief and improved mobility, the benefits of hip preservation surgery include preventing arthritis and the need for hip replacement surgery in the future. There are different types procedures, such as:

• Cartilage reconstruction or restoration: including microfracture surgery, abrasion, or bone and tissue grafts
• Bone spur removal: removing bony projections that form on the edges of bones
• Debridement: removing loose pieces of bone or cartilage in the hip
• Hip labral repair: repairing cartilage lining the outside of hip socket
• Pelvic osteotomy: cutting away bone to better align the hip and pelvis

If debilitating hip pain or injury affects your active lifestyle, hip preservation surgery may be the most effective option for you.

Who Is a Candidate?

Hip preservation surgery is an option for people with hip pain and injury that doesn’t respond to non-surgical treatments, such as modified activity, physical therapy, or medications. It’s not an option for people with moderate or advanced hip arthritis, although hip replacement surgery may be.

Active people, athletes, and young adults (15 years and older) are good candidates for hip preservation surgery. Procedures can help people recover from hip:

• Avascular necrosis: bone tissue death caused by a loss of blood supply
• Bursitis: painful inflammation
• Cartilage injuries: damage to the tissue that covers the surface of the bone
• Dysplasia: joint that is too shallow or the wrong size to fully support the bone
• Impingement: compression of the joint
• Labral tears: tear in the cartilage lining outside the joint socket

What to Expect

An orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in arthroscopic techniques and hip joint reconstruction performs hip preservation surgery. Most procedures last two to three hours and require general anesthesia and/or a regional nerve block (injection that blocks pain signals to the brain).

Arthroscopic hip surgery involves multiple tiny incisions around the hip joint where the surgeon inserts a scope (called an arthroscope) with a light, a camera, and small surgical tools to make the repair. Traditional, open procedures require a larger incision to access the area around the hip.

Recovery time for hip preservation surgery varies depending on the procedure and your condition. Most people go home the day of the surgery or within a day or two. Depending on the procedure, you may be off your feet for up to two weeks and require post-surgery rehabilitation and physical therapy for a few weeks after.

Why Choose UHealth?

Highly experienced in treating a full range of orthopaedic conditions. Our team of fellowship-trained orthopaedic specialists works together with a multidisciplinary group of physicians and scientists to provide high-quality care to people with benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous) conditions. These include musculoskeletal diseases, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, metastatic diseases, benign neoplasms of bone and soft tissue, and all types of orthopedic injuries.