Ligamentum teres reconstruction: indications, technique and minimum 1-year results in nine patients

Ligamentum teres (LT) tear is a recognized cause of hip pain. Debridement of tears and capsule plication has shown satisfactory results. However, a group of patients with complete tears do not improve after debridement and physiotherapy. The purpose of this work was to describe the senior author’s technique and clinical results for the early series of LT reconstructions. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Patients who underwent isolated LT reconstruction between 2013 and 2018. All the patients had previous debridement of a completely torn LT, capsule plication and rehabilitation. Patients who had any other associated procedure during LT reconstruction surgery and dysplastic acetabular features were excluded. Demographic and clinical data was reviewed. Complications, type of graft and modified Harris hip scores (mHHSs) were recorded preoperatively and at 1-year follow-up. Fifteen LT reconstructions were performed during the study period. Six were excluded (as they had additional procedures performed during surgery) and nine patients aged a mean 30 (range: 22–48) years old were included. The patients had a mean of 2 (range: 1–4) prior surgeries. At minimum 12 months (range: 12–24) 9/9 patients reported reduction of pain and instability symptoms with mHHSs of 84.2 (73.7–100) versus 51.7 (36.3–70.4) preoperatively (P = 0.00094). Three patients (of the total cohort of 15) underwent second-look arthroscopy (11–22 months after reconstruction). None of these patients underwent total hip replacement at a mean of 4 (range: 1–6) years. Arthroscopic LT reconstruction improved function and pain in patients with persistent pain and instability after resection of the LT.