Editorial Commentary: Hip Primary Labral Repair Versus Reconstruction: Equally Successful Outcomes Can Be Achieved Based on Proper Indications

Editorial Commentary: Surgeons Planning Hip Labral Arthroscopic Repair Should Have a Backup Plan of Labral Reconstruction or Augmentation Based on Intraoperative Labral Degeneration, Hypoplasia, or Ossification

The arena of hip arthroscopy has seen leaps in practices over the past decade, evolving from surgical debridement of the labrum to improvements in techniques which now allow repair, augmentation, and circumferential reconstruction. But as the operating theater continues to change its act, so too must the preoperative choreography. Recent advancements in the understanding of preoperative risk factors for failure of primary labral repair have identified the diminutive or hypoplastic labra on prescreening magnetic resonance imaging as a negative predictor of success. While this quantitative assessment predicts the anatomical coverage of the labrum, we are still limited in our ability to qualify the latter's tissue substance preoperatively. Ossified or degenerative labra may not have the inherent functional capacity to restore the suction seal of the hip in a primary repair setting. If the applause from the audience fails to reach a significant threshold, we must rethink our act, and that begins with the choreography. The next step in hip arthroscopy is determining if a primary augmentation or reconstruction, in lieu of primary repair, warrants further consideration. Until we develop reliable methods of quantifying and qualifying the labral tissue, both preoperatively and optimally, we should establish backup for surprises encountered while on the "stage."