(v) A practical approach to acetabular reconstruction in revision hip surgery

Acetabular reconstruction can be a major challenge in revision hip surgery. A wide variety of potential defects confronts the surgeon, from an essentially intact acetabulum to the complex, but thankfully rare, discontinuity. This review will demonstrate that careful review of pre-operative imaging with defect classification allows the surgeon to ‘characterise’ potential bone loss and identify what he/she is likely to encounter, helping the surgeon to plan and to effect a sound reconstruction. We aim to describe some of the techniques that can assist the surgeon and to demonstrate how recent advances in materials, with porous metal components, have shown encouraging results in even the most severe defects.