An international multidisciplinary team led by radiologist Vasco Mascarenhas and orthopaedist Paulo Rego , both from Hospital da Luz Lisboa, achieved the definition of an international consensus of specialists in those areas, regarding the criteria to apply in imaging exams to diagnose and evaluate femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), a hip disease that affects youths and young adults. The Lisbon Agreement was now published in the May online edition of European Radiology , the most respected scientific magazine in the area of radiology. The femoroacetabular impingement (where there is anomalous contact of the head of the femur with the acetabulum) can cause early hip arthritis. To be properly evaluated in imaging exams – that subsequently allow to establish a plan of treatment –, it is fundamental to have methods, parameters and classifications to characterize it. The existence of these criteria is also decisive for the clinical research on the disease. However, until this “Lisbon Agreement”, there was great debate and lack of guidance based on medical evidence, as well as a large variability in clinical practice. The team work, including Vasco Mascarenhas, Paulo Rego and Diana Afonso, was developed with 30 specialists (21 radiologists and 9 orthopaedists) from 13 countries. In the end, a consensus was achieved regarding the required guidelines for the clinical practice and research in the area , based on scientific and clinical evidence. Vasco Mascarenhas (on the right on the photo above) is the responsible for the Unit of Musculoskeletal Imaging from Hospital da Luz Lisboa and Paulo Rego (on the left in the same photo) is the director of the Service of Orthopaedics in the same unit. “The Lisbon Agreement on Femoroacetabular Impingement Imaging – part 1: overview”
