EVALUATION OF THE ACETABULAR LABRUM BY MR ARTHROGRAPHY

Since January 1993 we have carried out MR arthrography on 23 patients with clinical symptoms and signs of abnormality of the acetabular labr um, Most of the patients were young adults. Such symptoms are known pr ecursors of osteoarthritis, and therefore early and accurate evaluatio n is required. We assessed the value of MR arthrography of the hip as a minimally-invasive diagnostic technique, in a prospective study and compared the findings with those at subsequent operations, All the pat ients complained of groin pain; 22 had a positive acetabular impingeme nt test and 15 had radiological evidence of hip dysplasia. In 21 of th e patients, MR arthrography suggested either degeneration or a tear of the labrum or both, These findings were confirmed at operation in 18 patients, but there was no abnormality of the labrum in the other thre e. In two of the patients, MR arthrography erroneously suggested an in tact labrum, Both MR arthrography and intraoperative inspection locate d lesions of the superior labrum most often, and these appeared slight ly larger on arthrography than at operation. We consider that MR arthr ography is a promising diagnostic technique for the evaluation of abno rmalities of the acetabular labrum.