Functional Outcomes of Arthroscopic Treatment in Femoroacetabular Impingement in Patients over 60 Years Old Compared with Patients Aged 40 Years or Younger

Objective: To evaluate the functional outcomes of patients diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) older than 60 years, compared with those of patients of age 40 years or younger. Methods: This was a retrospective review of patients with FAI who underwent hip arthroscopy between 2010 and 2015. The patients were adults aged over 60 years with Tönnis ≤ 1 matched in a 1:1 ratio with adults aged 40 years or younger, according to the type of deformity (cam, pincer, or mixed), sex, and the date when the surgery was performed. Results: Thirty-four patients were included in each group. The mean age was 30.6 ± 6.9 years and 65.6 ± 4.6 years in the control and case groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the groups at 1-year follow-up (p > 0.05). In the group with older patients (case group), we observed a change in the total Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score from 46.3 to 22.0 in the 1 ^stpostoperative year, while the control cases improved in the WOMAC score from 38.1 to 7.2 in relation to the preoperative stage. Conclusion: In the group of patients ≤ 40 years old, a considerable change was observed in the WOMAC score without a statistical significance compared with the > 60 years group. This observation suggests that hip arthroscopy is beneficial when there is an appropriate selection of patients with FAI, regardless the age of the patient.