Diagnosis and therapy of hip abductor insufficiency after hip arthroplasty

Abductor insufficiency after hip arthroplasty is a difficult and challenging problem whereby conservative therapy is often insufficient and surgical therapy is known to have failures with re-ruptures. Alternative approaches and arthroscopic surgery are proposed but in many cases they do not fulfill the expectations of patients. Our experience with temporary explantation of implants and transosseous refixation is good resulting in a pain-free patient in a high number of cases but the method is quite demanding and needs a cooperative patient. A functionless abductor muscle is not amenable to surgical treatment but only a surgical exploration can confirm the clinical suspicion.