What is hip arthroscopy?

Hip arthroscopy, sometimes called a “hip scope,” is a minimally invasive procedure in which an orthopedic surgeon uses an arthroscope to examine the inside of the hip joint.

This procedure allows the surgeon to diagnose the cause of hip pain or other problems in your joint. Some hip conditions may also be treated arthroscopically. To perform arthroscopic hip surgery in these cases, the surgeon makes additional small incisions (usually one or two) to create access points for various arthroscopic needles, scalpels or other special surgical tools.

What are the advantages of hip arthroscopy?

A hip scope has several advantages over traditional open hip surgery, because it:

• causes very little trauma to the joint (which minimizes hip pain and scarring)
• is generally done on an outpatient basis (where patients return home after the procedure)
• typically has a short recovery period
• may postpone the advancement of hip arthritis by treating its cause in the early stages
• can delay or eliminate the need for a hip replacement by preemptively treating conditions that cause osteoarthritis of the hip