ACETABULAR RECONSTRUCTION WITH REINFORCEMENT RINGS

Reviewing the literature the revision arthroplasty of the hip joint wi th acetabular reinforcement rings shows good results concerning a foll ow-up period of six years in comparison with cemented or non-cemented primary implants. We use different acetabular reinforcement rings with differentiated indications. The primary assignment is the secure fixa tion of the ring to the vital bone. The acetabular bone defect is fill ed with autogenous or homogenous bone grafts. The increasing number of massive acetabular defects made us develop a new acetabular reinforce ment ring. It allows a better fixation than the Burch-Schneider Ring a nd is cheaper than the individual acetabular implant. Since 1988 we pe rformed 262 revision arthroplasty with acetabular reinforcement rings. Until 1996 we evaluated 174 reinforcement rings (41 Muller rings, 72 Ganz rings, 41 Burch-Schneider rings, 6 RS or RSH rings, 5 individual acetabular implants). After an average follow-up period of 5,6 years a radiological or clinical loosening of the acetabular component occurr ed in only 6 patients (3,4%). To reach a better comparison of the surg ical results we developed a score, which differentiately checks the op erative goals. On plane pelvic radiographs we checked the reconstructi on of the rotationcenter, the demarcation of the acetabular component and the outcome of the bone transplant.