Transcatheter Arterial Embolization to Treat Hip Osteoarthritis
A Pilot Case Series
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59667/sjoranm.v27i1.28Keywords:
osteoarthritis, hip, pain, embolizationAbstract
Chronic hip pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) is a source of disability in older adults. This prospective, single-center pilot case series, conducted under IRB approval, describes hip transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in four patients with persistent OA-related hip pain despite conservative treatment. Embolization was guided by angiographic blush and the feasibility of selective catheterization. Three arterial contributors were embolized in Case 1, the lateral circumflex femoral artery alone in Cases 2 and 3, and the lateral and medial circumflex femoral arteries in Case 4. Pain was assessed using the 0–10 Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months. At six months, all four patients had at least a 50% reduction in VAS score, with the mean decreasing from 9.75 to 1.75. No ischemic complications were reported during the six-month follow-up. These uncontrolled observations suggest a potential role for hip TAE in selected patients; they do not establish efficacy or safety. Larger controlled studies with longer follow-up are needed.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Prem Krishnamurthy, Nishanth Konduru, Siddhartha Rao
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