BACKGROUND

Hip abductor complex tears remain an injury without a clear consensus on management. Surgical treatment has been recommended after unsuccessful nonoperative management. This study evaluates both tenodesis and bone trough techniques, with treatment choices guided by previously described tear classification.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study of 45 hips in 44 patients who underwent surgical treatment for symptomatic, chronic hip abductor tear unresponsive to nonoperative treatment. Demographics and preoperative and postoperative values (including visual analog scale pain scores, gait assessment, and muscle strength) were evaluated. Type I tears were treated using tendon tenodesis. Type II tears were treated through a bone trough repair.

RESULTS

Forty-five hips (44 patients) were operated on with a minimum of 6-month follow-up. There were 27 type I and 18 type II tears. Eighty-seven percent of patients were female. Twenty-eight percent of type II patients (5/18) had a preexisting arthroplasty in place. Significant improvements in pain (P < .001), gait (P < .001), and muscle strength (P < .001) were achieved in both the tear types. Type I repairs showed superior results to type II repairs. However, both showed significant improvements. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging at 6 months showed healed tenodesis in 81% (17/21) of type I tears and 50% (5/10) of type II tears.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows improvement in pain and function after surgical repair of hip abductor tendon injuries in both simple and complex tears. This improvement is seen even during ongoing surgical site healing. Magnetic resonance imaging findings may remain abnormal for more than 1 year after surgery and do not clearly denote repair failure.