One of the more recent advances in keyhole surgery is hip arthroscopy. This particular area of arthroscopic surgery has been relatively neglected until recently but its development has widened the options open to the orthopaedic surgeon when considering the most appropriate treatment for the patient. Historically, attempts at hip arthroscopy were first reported in 1931 by Burman. Soon after, the procedure appears to have lost popularity until, during the mid 1970s and 1980s, there appear isolated reports of hip arthroscopy.