Arthroscopic hip surgery is one of the fastest growing orthopedic surgical procedures today. This procedure is commonly utilized to treat hip impingement and hip labral tears. The rapid growth of surgery for this condition is thought to result from both an increase in surgeons trained in hip arthroscopic surgery, as well as, the increased utilization of MRI scans. Experts have expressed concern over these increases in surgical rates due to the large numbers of pain free athletes and patients who show impingement and labral tears on MRI, but remain asymptomatic. One of the key indications for surgery remains failure of conservative treatments including high level, evidence based Physical Therapy. Patients who are unable to return to a desired level of activity or play may opt for the surgery after completion of this Physical Therapy program. A recent study reports on the pre and post operative costs associated with this procedure.
Clewley and colleagues performed a retrospective analysis of pre and post operative costs in 1850 patients who elected for hip arthroscopic surgery over a 12 year period (JOSPT. 2018). Authors found significant differences in costs and health care use between high and low health care utilization groups. In addition, authors found patients who utilized greater amounts of care before the procedure were more likely to use greater amounts of healthcare after the procedure. As expected, the higher utilization group spent significantly greater amounts of money for their associated care compared to their lower utilization peers. Future research is needed to determine the psychosocial and behavioral traits associated with higher health care expenditures.