Management of Bone Marrow Lesions of the Hip With Subchondral Calcium Phosphate Injection: Surgical Technique and Tips

Bone marrow lesions (BMLs) are localized areas of edema within subchondral bone, which are often due to early chondromalacia changes, subchondral insufficiency stress or microfractures, and/or avascular necrosis. The presence of BMLs worsen outcomes after arthroscopy and arthroplasty, thus making their management important in the preservation of hip function. In recent years, the advent of Subchondroplasty (SCP; Zimmer Knee Creations Incorporated, Exton, PA)—a minimally invasive surgical technique that involves injecting an isothermic calcium phosphate solution to stabilize BMLs—has shown promising results in managing pain from osteoarthritis (OA). The SCP material (AccuFill Bone Substitute Material, Zimmer Knee Creations Incorporated) has a similar physical and chemical structure to native bone mineral. In this Technical Note, we discuss a surgical approach for managing acetabular and femoral head BMLs with SCP. We also review the prior clinical trials reporting on SCP for knee OA. SCP may be a promising technique as part of the treatment algorithm for managing hip OA, and clinical trial enrollment has begun for hip SCP. On the basis of these results, further investigations into this procedure may be warranted.