A new operative approach in the correction of external coxa saltans: the snapping hip.

BACKGROUND: External snapping hip is an entity that describes a snap that is felt on the lateral aspect of the hip. Several surgical interventions are described.

HYPOTHESIS: The external snapping hip can be corrected with a simple procedure that is minimally invasive and less demanding than other techniques.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective review from June 1994 until January 2002 looking at released external snapping hips.

METHODS: There were 16 patients with 17 hips; follow-up was in 15 patients with 16 snapping hips. Twelve patients with 13 hips were contacted by telephone interview, and 3 were followed up by their most recent chart note. All underwent the same procedure performed by the senior author. The questionnaire was conducted at an average of 32.5 months after surgery (range, 9-74 months). For 3 patients, chart-only follow-up was at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, respectively.

RESULTS: Fourteen of 16 hips remained asymptomatic after final surgical release (2 hips needed a second release). All patients contacted by telephone would undergo the same procedure again if faced with the same symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: This technique is simpler than most of those previously described with the benefit of no formal postoperative regimen and comparable results.