Preserving Hips. Providing Hope.

Young adulthood is an exciting time of increased independence. But for young people with hip issues, debilitating pain may be holding them back.

Mayo Clinic recognized that young adults with hip pain are in a unique position — they’re older than a typical pediatric orthopedic patient. And they don’t need a full-blown hip replacement like older adults might. That’s where Dr. Emmanouil Grigoriou and his colleagues come in.

Photos Courtesy of Mayo Clinic

Filling the gap

Dr. Grigroriou is a hip preservation specialist at the Young Hip Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He was recruited to help Mayo Clinic better serve patients aged 16 to 40 experiencing hip pain that limits their ability to participate in sports and activities.

Hip preservation is a relatively new field of medicine — which makes the specialty care offered at the Young Hip Clinic quite unique. “Hip pathology is very nuanced, and so are the different treatment options. There’s a lot of art in hip preservation,” says Dr. Grigoriou.

The goal of hip preservation is to preserve a patient’s hip cartilage before it’s too late. The ideal candidate is an older adolescent or young adult with enough well-preserved cartilage in their joint. By intervening during these crucial young-adult years, doctors can preserve this cartilage for years to come — hopefully avoiding or at least postponing the need for an artificial hip joint.

Where rare is routine

Though the Young Hip Clinic treats all types of hip issues, the two most common conditions treated in the clinic are hip dysplasia and hip impingement.

With hip dysplasia, the hip socket is too shallow and doesn’t fully cover the joint. Pain associated with hip dysplasia isn’t necessarily activity related. This condition is more common in females.

In cases of hip impingement, the hip joint is too tight and the restricted movement damages the cartilage and labrum around the joint. This condition is usually aggravated by activity.

For hip dysplasia, the treatment of choice is a procedure called periacetabular osteotomy (PAO), which reshapes the hip socket. For impingement, conventional and minimally invasive (arthroscopic) surgical procedures are available.

Innovative solutions

Mayo Clinic’s unique, team-based approach provides patients the most comprehensive evaluations and treatment options anywhere.

Working with different types of specialists makes it easier to determine whether the issue is coming from the hip joint itself or somewhere else. And advanced imaging with highly sophisticated sequences and protocols allows doctors to pinpoint the source of the pain.

Once they have a diagnosis, Mayo Clinic’s specialists have the ability to perform both arthroscopic and open surgeries at once — a rarity in hip preservation.

“Most institutions require patients to undergo anesthesia twice, with two different rehabs and two different recovery periods,” says Dr. Grigoriou. “But here, we’re able to offer them both hip arthroscopy and PAO in the same setting, on the same day, under one anesthetic event, so they can start their recovery immediately afterwards. It’s more of a one-and-done option.” Welcome news for active young adults.

mayoclinic.org/visitorguide | 507-923-2566

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