Optimal Analgesia for Outpatient Hip Arthroscopy

Kevin Priddy, MD; Linda Le-Wendling, MD

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL

Introduction

Hip arthroscopic surgery is occasionally performed as an outpatient procedure, but severe postoperative pain can delay and prevent patient discharge. Due to its complex innervation, complete analgesic coverage of the hip joint from peripheral nerve blocks can be quite difficult to achieve. Choosing the right combination of regional techniques and multimodal analgesic medications is crucial for adequate pain control, timely discharge, and patient satisfaction.

 

Here, we compare two analgesic strategies for a healthy 26-year old male with bilateral femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and labral tears. He underwent bilateral arthroscopic hip procedures three months apart for his chronic hip pain.