Purpose

To evaluate the short-term outcomes of gluteus maximus transfer as treatment for irreparable gluteus medius tears.

Methods

Data was prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed for all patients who underwent gluteus maximus transfer between July 2011 and July 2021. Patient were eligible for inclusion in the study if they presented with a full thickness irreparable gluteus medius tear treated with a gluteus maximus transfer and had completed preoperative and minimum 2-year postoperative questionnaires for at least one of the following patient reported outcomes measures (PROM); modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Non-Arthritic Hip Score (NAHS), Hip Outcome Score-Sports Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS), International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12),Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and patient satisfaction; or had a documented endpoint within the study's timeframe. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the mentioned PROMs was calculated and included in the analysis.

Results

A total of 15 hips were included in the study. 93.3% of the study group was female with a mean age of 66.7 ± 3.1 and body mass index (BMI) of 28.3 ± 1.2 kg/m2. Significant improvement was shown for mHHS, NAHS, HOS-SSS, iHOT12, and VAS pain scale, as well a high patient satisfaction at the latest follow-up. A high percentage of patients; 80.0%, 60.0%, 66.7%, and 60%, respectively; reached the calculated MCID for mHHS, NAHS, HOS-SSS, and VAS.

Conclusion

Gluteus maximus transfer for irreparable gluteus medius tears has shown favorable short-term outcomes, high patient satisfaction rates, and a high percentage of patients reaching MCID.