Hip Arthroscopy Specialist

What is hip arthroscopy?

Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgery that allows Dr. Matsuda to examine your hip joint and perform repairs without having to make a large incision. He uses an arthroscope — a thin pencil-shaped tool that has a camera with a lens on its tip.

Once Dr. Matsuda inserts the arthroscope into your hip, it sends images back to a video monitor in the treatment room. He studies the pictures for signs of damage and uses other specially designed surgical tools to repair your hip.

Often hip conditions may afflict both hips. Dr. Matsuda is one of the very few specialists offering bilateral hip arthroscopy, treating both of your hips during the same operation. He was the first surgeon to perform simultaneous bilateral hip arthroscopies over a decade ago and has published the surgical teaching video on his techniques.

Because of his experience and the efficiency of his surgical team, simultaneous bilateral hip arthroscopies produce similar successful outcomes as unilateral (one side) hip arthroscopy with no increase in complications.

Treating both sides at the same time means you only have to recover once. This is appealing, especially to the patient wanting to return to sport, whether weekend warrior or elite professional athlete.

What procedures are performed during hip arthroscopy?

As a leading arthroscopic hip surgeon, Dr. Matsuda can perform a number of procedures during hip arthroscopy, including:

• Acetabuloplasty (reshaping the socket)
• Labral repair and reconstruction
• Femoroplasty (reshaping the femur)
• Capsular repair
• Shelf acetabuloplasty (bone grafting)
• Synovitis resection (removal of inflamed tissue)
• Bursectomy (removal of inflamed bursa)
• Tendon repairs (repair of torn hip abductor tendons like the gluteus medius and repair of hamstring tendons)
• Tendon release or lengthening  (like the iliopsoas flexor tendon)
• Loose body removal
• Subchondroplasty (repair of bone defects or cysts)
• Fracture repair (acetabular rim and femoral head fractures)

What happens during hip arthroscopy?

Hip arthroscopy is an outpatient procedure. Dr. Matsuda and his team prepare you for surgery and provide anesthesia, so you sleep through the operation.

Dr. Matsuda begins the procedure by putting your leg in traction to pull your femur — your thigh bone — about a ½ inch from your hip socket, creating space for him to insert the arthroscope through a very small incision in your hip. He examines your joint to identify the problem. If further treatment is needed, he makes additional small incisions to insert other instruments into your hip joint to make the repairs or extract loose tissue.

Whereas some surgeons need more incisions, Dr. Matsuda is able to do almost all surgeries with only two small ¼ inch very cosmetic incisions.

When your hip arthroscopy is done, Dr. Matsuda removes the arthroscope and other instruments and closes the incisions with a stitch.

What should I expect while I recover from hip arthroscopy?

You should be able to walk with crutches as soon as your anesthesia wears off, although you’ll need someone to drive you home. Dr. Matsuda is an experienced and efficient surgeon and keeps the time you spend in traction brief, reducing stress on your joint, minimizing complications, and facilitating a more rapid recovery.

An individualized post-operative physical therapy and/or home exercise program will be instituted to restore your strength, flexibility, and range of motion.Most patients can begin stationary bicycling the day after surgery.  Dr. Matsuda will give you customized instructions to support your recovery and will schedule follow-up appointments to check on your progress.

If you’re looking for one of the best orthopedic hip surgeons, call Dr. Matsuda at Premier Hip Arthroscopy or schedule a consultation online today.