Iliopsoas impingement after primary total hip arthroplasty: Operative and nonoperative treatment outcomes

Background: A potential cause of persistent groin pain after total hip arthroplasty is impingement of the iliopsoas tendon. Treatment options include conservative management, tenotomy, and acetabular revision, but the literature, to our knowledge, has been limited to small case series on each technique. We present a series of patients with iliopsoas impingement after total hip arthroplasty and evaluate efficacy and risk factors for success or failure of each treatment strategy. Methods: Forty-nine patients treated at one institution for a diagnosis of iliopsoas impingement after primary total hip arthroplasty with hemispherical acetabular component and polyethylene bearing were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-one patients underwent acetabular revision, 8 patients underwent tenotomy, and 20 patients had nonoperative management. The mean follow-up was 4 years. Anterior acetabular component prominence was measured on true lateral hip radiographs. Results: At the most recent follow-up, 10 patients (50%) in the nonoperative group had groin pain resolution compared with 22 patients (76%) in the operative group (p = 0.06). In patients with <8 mm of component prominence, tenotomy provided resolution of groin pain in 5 (100%) of 5 patients and a mean Harris hip score of 89 points. In patients with ≥8mm of prominence, acetabular revision led to groin pain resolution in 12 (92%) of 13 patients compared with 1 (33%) of 3 patients treated with tenotomy (p = 0.07). Conclusions: Nonoperative management of iliopsoas impingement led to groin pain resolution in 50% of patients. In patients with minimal acetabular component prominence, iliopsoas release provided a high rate of success. Acetabular revision was more predictable for groin pain resolution in patients with ≥8 mm of anterior component prominence. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.