Endoscopic repair of partial-thickness undersurface tears of the gluteus medius tendon

Partial-thickness tear of the gluteus medius and minimus muscles has recently been recognized as a cause of chronic trochanteric pain resistant to medical treatment. The present article reports an original endoscopic technique of identification and repair. It uses a standard arthroscope at 30 degrees, with the patient in lateral decubitus, without fluoroscopy. In case of partial-thickness undersurface tear, careful hook palpation followed by bursa exploration enables the pathological tendon to be diagnosed. A trans-tendinous approach then allows debridement, with systematic resection of the bone structures implicated in the impingement, followed by side-to-side tendon suture. Level of evidence: Level IV (case series). (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.