Original Article

Low-dose prophylaxis protocol for heterotopic ossification after hip preservation surgery in a sport participants cohort

¹ Centro Traumatológico Ortopédico, (CTO), University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sport Traumatology, IMSKE Hospital, 46024 Valencia, Spain
³ Orthopedic and Traumatology Department, Hospital Vila Franca de Xira, 2600-009 Portugal
⁴ Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University Medical Center, L8S 4S4 Hamilton, Canada
⁵ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, PC 308433 Novena, Singapore
⁶ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, 28031 Madrid, Spain
⁷ European Hip Preservation Associates, EHPA-ESSKA Section, Europe

^* Corresponding author: doctor.capurro@gmail.com

Received: 17 April 2023
Accepted: 30 July 2023

Abstract

Background: Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a well-known complication of arthroscopic and open surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Incidence of heterotopic ossification has been reported in the literature between 0% and 44% after hip arthroscopy and between 18.2% and 25% after anterior mini-open surgery. Currently, pharmacological prophylaxis with NSAIDs and selective COX-2 inhibitors are commonly used and their effectiveness is well documented in literature. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the low-dose prophylaxis protocol with selective cox-2 inhibitors decreases the risk of heterotopic ossification in open or arthroscopic hip preservation surgery in athletes. Methods: This study is an analysis of prospectively gathered data on 98 sport participant patients who underwent arthroscopic or anterior mini-open treatment for FAI between April 2008 and April 2018. All the patients received postoperative oral prophylaxis with 60 mg etoricoxib once daily for two weeks. Post-operative X-rays were performed at 1, 3, and 12 months after surgery and reviewed by two orthopedic surgeons blinded to the type and side of surgery. HO were graded according to the Brooker classification. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze demographic data. Bivariate analysis was performed to analyze the association of HO with each of the following variables: type of surgery, physical activity, time of evolution of symptoms, age at surgery, and sex. Finally, a regression model analysis was performed to determine the presence of confounding effects between variables. Results: The study cohort was composed of 54 patients in the arthroscopic treatment group and 44 patients in the anterior mini-open group. HO was identified in 6 (13.6%) patients in the mini-open group. No HO was identified in the arthroscopic group. In the bivariate analysis, “type of surgery” was the only variable that showed a statistically significant association with HO (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that anterior mini-open treatment was characterized by a higher risk of HO development compared to hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement treatment regardless of pharmacological prophylaxis. The treatment regimen of 60 mg etoricoxib daily for two weeks was an effective prophylaxis for HO formation in sport participant patients compared with data available in the literature.