Hip Arthroscopy Traction Time and Total Operative Time Decreases with Surgical Experience

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of surgical experience, measured by years of practice and case volume, on operative and traction times in hip arthroscopy procedures for acetabular labral repair and reconstruction Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of hip arthroscopy cases performed by a single fellowship-trained surgeon between August 16, 2021, and August 16, 2024. Patients included underwent primary hip arthroscopy for acetabular labral repair or reconstruction. Spearman correlation analyses assessed the relationship between years of surgical experience, number of labral anchors used, and operative and traction times. Data were divided into repair and reconstruction cohorts. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 117 cases (102 repairs, 15 reconstructions) in 106 patients (mean age 29.9 years, mean BMI 28.1) were analyzed. In the repair cohort, operative and traction times significantly decreased from 149.1 to 124.7 minutes and 64.0 to 56.1 minutes over three years, respectively. Significant negative correlations were found between both years of experience and case volume with operative (r = -0.424, p<0.0001) and traction times (r = -0.435, p<0.0001). No significant associations were observed in the reconstruction cohort or between anchor number and time measures. Conclusion: Surgical experience and increasing case volume significantly reduce operative and traction times in acetabular labrum repair, with improvements continuing beyond the 100-case mark. No such association was observed for more complex labral reconstructions.