DIAGNOSIS OF THE PAINFUL HIP BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING AND ARTHROSCOPY

We have compared the findings of MRI with those of hip arthroscopy in 23 hips in young adults with hip pain. Large deep cartilage deficienci es on the acetabulum or femoral head, the percentage of femoral head c over, and the presence of marginal osteophytes seen on MRI correlated well with those seen at arthroscopy, but chondral softening, fibrillat ion, or partial-thickness defects less than 1 cm in diameter were less consistently detected by MRI. Osteochondral loose bodies and labral t ears were not well demonstrated by MRI, but were readily identified an d treated at arthroscopy. Arthroscopy of the hip is a useful investiga tion for hip pain in young adults especially when standard non-invasiv e MRI fails to provide a clear diagnosis.