Background: Telehealth use has increased significantly of late. However, outside of total hip and knee arthroplasty, there is minimal evidence regarding its efficacy in orthopaedics and postoperative rehabilitation. Purpose: To determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a transition to postoperative telehealth physical therapy in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Included were 51 patients undergoing postoperative physical therapy after hip arthroscopy for FAI. The intervention group consisted of patients undergoing initial in-person visits followed by a transition to telehealth physical therapy for 3 months postoperatively (group 1; n = 17). Comparison groups included patients undergoing in-person physical therapy with the same physical therapy team as the telehealth group (group 2; n = 17) and patients undergoing in-person therapy with a different therapy team at the same facility (group 3; n = 17). All groups were matched 1-to-1 by patient age and sex. All patients completed the short version of the International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12) both preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively. At 3 months postoperatively, it was determined whether patients met the minimally clinically important difference (MCID; ≥13 points) or substantial clinical benefit (SCB; ≥28 points) or whether they reached a Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS; ≥64 points). Billed charges were recorded as a measure of cost. Results: The overall mean age of the study patients ranged from 33 to 34 years. Among the 3 groups, there was no significant difference in the preoperative, postoperative, or pre- to postoperative change in iHOT-12 scores or in the percentage of patients meeting MCID, SCB, or PASS at 3 months. Group 1 had significantly lower mean costs ($1015.67) compared with group 2 ($1555.62; P = .011) or group 3 ($1896.38; P < .001). Conclusion: In this pilot study, telehealth physical therapy after hip arthroscopy was found to lead to similar short-term outcomes and was cost-effective compared with in-person physical therapy.

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To describe the recovery trajectory in a group of relatively older borderline dysplastic female femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) patients following arthroscopic surgery, to determine if outcomes in this group differs from females with different age and bony morphology characteristics. Four subgroups were created to define (i) older females (>35 years), borderline dysplastic (lateral center edge angle [LCEA] ≤ 25 degrees) and anterior wall index (AWI) deficient (AWI ≤ 0.40) (older, borderline dysplastic, anterior wall deficient [ODD, reference]); (ii) younger (≤35 years), borderline dysplastic (LCEA ≤ 25 degrees) and deficient anterior wall (AWI ≤ 0.40) (younger, borderline dysplastic, anterior wall deficient [YDD]); (iii) older (>35 years), non-dysplastic (LCEA > 25 degrees) and non-deficient anterior wall (AWI > 0.40) (older, non-dysplastic, non-deficient anterior wall [ONN]); and (iv) younger (≤35 years), non-dysplastic (LCEA > 25 degrees) and non-deficient anterior wall (AWI > 0.40) (younger, non-dysplastic, non-deficient anterior wall [YNN]). One hundred and seventy-three female patients were included. Comparing mean scores, the ODD group reported significantly lower International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12) change scores compared with the ONN group [23.58 ± 9.73; P = 0.03] at 12 months. ODD group also demonstrated significantly lower iHOT-12 change scores compared with the ONN (27.62 ± 8.22; P < 0.01) and YNN (25.39 ± 7.68; P < 0.01) groups at 24 months. Relatively older females with borderline dysplasia and anterior acetabular wall deficiencies had poorer iHOT-12 outcomes at both 12 and 24 months post-operatively compared with other female subgroups. In the absence of hip dysplasia and anterior wall deficiencies, superior iHOT-12 outcomes were observed in both older and younger females post-operatively.