Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the radiological appearance of moulded cancellous bone graft used for acetabular reconstruction in revision arthroplasty of the hip.
We reviewed retrospectively 48 cases with a mean follow-up of 3.5 years. The radiological study was based on: the density of the graft, the delineation line between the graft and the host bone or the presence of trabecular continuity between the graft and the acetabular bone, and the position of the cup. Increasing density of the graft was observed in 35 cases.
Trabecular continuity between the graft and the host bone appeared in 9 cases, in Zone I, with a mean delay of 2.6 years. This finding was associated with the disappearance of the dense line separating the graft from the acetabular bone in 8 hips (16.6%). At a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, 4 patients showed migration of the cup; this was secondary to graft resorption in 3 cases. Only one of these patients had been reoperated on.
From these observations we have made an attempt to describe the evolving appearance of the bone graft and the radiological signs that may be used to assess graft incorporation.
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