Surgical correction of internal coxa saltans: a 20-year consecutive study.

PURPOSE: To report the complications associated with surgical correction of internal snapping hip.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review.

METHODS: A review of 92 cases of internal coxa saltans (12 bilateral) from 1982 to 2002 was performed to identify complications following primary surgical correction. An inguinal approach was used for iliopsoas tendon fractional lengthening. The average follow-up time per patient was 5.4 years.

RESULTS: A total of 40 complications occurred in 32 patients. Complications included persistent hip pain (n = 6), sensory deficit (n = 8), and hip flexor weakness persisting longer than 1 month (n = 3). Additionally, painful bursa formation (n = 1), hematoma requiring reexploration (n = 1), and superficial infection (n = 1) were noted. Some patients developed recurrent snapping after a 3-month snapping-free interval (n = 9), and some patients never had complete resolution of snapping and were considered failures (n = 11). Of these failures/recurrences, 8 patients had a second tenotomy with 4 failures. Two had a third tenotomy, with 1 failure.

CONCLUSIONS: In this series, primary iliopsoas tendon lengthening in patients with internal coxa saltans was without any complication in only 60% of patients; however, overall patient satisfaction was 89%.