Current concepts in the treatment of adolescent femoroacetabular impingement

There is growing evidence that symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement leads to intra-articular damage and the development of early-onset osteoarthritis. Symptoms of femoroacetabular impingement often do not manifest until adulthood, but have been increasingly recognised in the paediatric and adolescent population. The surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement is aimed at restoring a more normal femoral head–neck offset in order to increase the clearance and prevent femoral abutment against the acetabular edge. Current methods include open and arthroscopic techniques. The latter has been combined with an open approach to gain access to the head–neck junction for osteochondroplasty. Proximal femoral and/or periacetabular osteotomies are used to treat femoroacetabular impingement associated with deformity secondary to childhood hip conditions, such as slipped capital femoral epiphysis and Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease. Some adolescents have severe degenerative joint disease at the time of presentation and may require arthroplasty or arthrodesis. The aim of this review is to identify the major trends and advancements in the management of femoroacetabular impingement in adolescents, including the outcome of studies of the surgical treatment modalities used.