Needle Hip Arthroscopy

Needle hip arthroscopy an easy quick procedure to treat hip pain and diagnose conditions of the hip.

Needle hip arthroscopy takes 5 minutes to perform. It is done in a surgical center where the patient is given anesthesia so the patient does not feel pain.

During the procedure the hip is stretched to create space for the needle. The needle is inserted into the hip joint with the assistance of Xray. There is a small fiberoptic camera that goes through the needle to confirm that the needle is in the hip joint. The hip joint is inspected to look for fluid, inflammation, tears of the hip labrum cartilage, loose pieces of cartilage or bone, hip arthritis, or damage to the smooth cartilage. Please see the videos below to learn more about the conditions of the hip that can be diagnosed and treated with needle hip arthroscopy.

A painful hip can be treated with needle hip arthroscopy by draining the fluid, removing debris, and injecting medicine. In addition to injecting the hip joint, multiple areas around the hip can be injected (tendons, muscles and bursa).

Needle hip arthroscopy is an alternative procedure to a simple hip injection, standard surgical hip arthroscopy and total hip replacement. It can diagnose hip conditions that may not be seen with an MRI scan. In my opinion it is more beneficial than having a simple hip injection because you are able to directly visualize the hip joint, drain hip fluid and clean (lavage) the hip joint more effectively, as well as diagnosing hip conditions. The procedure is done under anesthesia so another big advantage is that multiple areas around the hip can be injected easily which would be too painful with simple injection techniques. The hip joint is stretched to create space for the needle so there is less chance of damaging the hip joint structures with the needle which can happen with a standard hip injection. Needle hip arthroscopy is a safe, simple procedure to perform. There is minimal down time. Most patients have minimal or no post procedure pain and are back to work the following day after the procedure.

Treatment protocol for hip pain

• Physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication
• Needle Hip Arthroscopy or Simple hip injection
• Surgical Hip Arthroscopy or Total Hip Replacement

Advantages Needle Hip Arthroscopy

• The surgeon is able to directly look at hip joint to diagnose hip labrum tears, loose bodies of the hip, hip synovitis, and articular cartilage damage which may not be seen on an MRI.
• Needle hip arthroscopy is 100 percent accurate to inject medicine in the hip joint because the hip point is directly visualized. The surgeon is also able to inject multiple areas of the hip at the same time. (hip tendons and the bursa around the hip joint). An hip injection under ultrasound or xray is not as accurate.
• The surgeon is able to remove a hip effusion (fluid) as well as remove some of the loose debris in the hip. This is difficult or not able to be done with a standard hip injection.
• Needle hip arthroscopy is done under anesthesia so the patient does not experience pain.
• The hip joint is distracted so there is space to put the needle in the hip. This decreases the chances of the needle doing damage to the hip joint structures.
• Needle hip arthroscopy takes approximately 5 minutes and there is minimal pain post procedure. Most patients are able to return to work in a day or two.

For Dr. Seldes post operative protocol for needle hip arthroscopy, click here