Outcomes for Arthroscopic Treatment of Anterior Inferior Iliac Spine (Subspine) Hip Impingement

Background: Femoroacetabular hip impingement (FAI) is now well recognized; however, anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS; or subspine) impingement is a form of hip impingement that is underrecognized and can be an important source of hip disability and functional limitation.

Purpose: To investigate the outcomes after arthroscopic treatment of AIIS/subspine-related hip impingement in the absence of FAI surgery.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: A prospective institutional hip preservation registry was reviewed to identify patients who underwent arthroscopic AIIS decompression without concurrent treatment of FAI. Primary outcome tools captured in the registry included the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), the Hip Outcome Score (HOS), and the International Hip Outcome Tool-33 (iHOT-33). Patients with minimum 1-year follow-up were included. Meaningful outcome improvement was determined per minimal clinically important difference (MCID). Statistical analyses were primarily descriptive.

Results: Thirty-three patients with a mean follow-up of 19.1 months (range, 12-44 months) were identified. All patients were female, with a mean ± SD age of 26.1 ± 10.3 years. All patients were found to have an associated labral tear, and the mean acetabular version was increased at 2 and 3 o'clock (14.5° and 19.8°, respectively). Mean preoperative outcome scores on the mHHS, HOS ADL (activities of daily living), HOS sport, and iHOT-33 were 57.2 ± 15.3, 66.9 ± 18.8, 43.9 ± 23.6, and 33.5 ± 18.3, respectively. At final available follow-up, mean scores on these outcome measures were 79.5 ± 19.0, 86.8 ± 15.8, 70.4 ± 32.8, and 65.0 ± 31.0, respectively. By the 1-year follow-up, MCID had been achieved in the majority of patients across all 4 tools.

Conclusion: There is a paucity of outcomes evidence on AIIS/subspine-related hip impingement. This study demonstrates that isolated subspine impingement can be a cause of hip disability, even in the absence of FAI. Patients with isolated subspine impingement are more likely to be women and to present with low patient-reported outcome scores. However, meaningful outcome improvement can be achieved with arthroscopic AIIS decompression.