OBJECTIVES: to determine the prevalence of complications in a series of consecutive cases of hip arthroscopy; to assess the progression of the casuistic through a learning curve; and to recognize the causes of complications in arthroscopic hip surgeries. METHOD: 150 consecutive cases were evaluated, who were submitted to hip arthroscopy from May 2004 through December 2008. All the surgical complications described were classified according to three aspects: organic system involved, severity, and every 50 consecutive cases. The data obtained were analyzed, and statistical analysis was carried out using Fischer's exact test. RESULTS: We observed 15 complications (10%) in this study; two osteoarticular, one ischemic vascular and two cutaneous. In the classification of severity, 3 were classified as very severe, 12 as intermediary and none as not severe. The incidence of complications through our learning curve showed no statistical significance (p=0.16). CONCLUSIONS: Hip arthroscopy is a surgical procedure that involves low morbidity, but that still presents complications in some cases. These complications are frequently neurological and non-permanent, and are mainly due to the joint traction. The complication rate did not decrease with the progression of our casuistic.
Arthroscopy; Hip joint; Complications
