Personalized digital simulation‑assisted acetabular component implantation in revision hip arthroplasty

The number of artificial total hip revision arthroplasties is increasing yearly in China, and >50% of these cases have acetabular defects. Accurately locating and quantifying the bone defect is one of the current challenges of this surgery. Thus, the objective of the present study was to simulate acetabular implantation with the aid of Mimics 17.0 software (Materialise NV) in patients with loosened acetabular prosthesis, to evaluate the 'ideal acetabular center' and the 'actual acetabular center' to guide the choice of prosthesis and surgical method. From January 2017 to June 2021, the present study included 10 hips from 10 patients [seven men (seven hips) and three women (three hips)]. In all patients, the Mimics software was applied to simulate the dislocation of the femoral prosthesis and acetabular prosthesis implantation before surgery; calculate the height difference between the 'ideal acetabular center' and the 'actual acetabular center' to assess the bone defect; confirm the size of the acetabular prosthesis, abduction angle, anteversion angle and bone coverage of the acetabular cup; and measure the intraoperative bleeding and postoperative follow-up Harris score of the hip joint. After statistical analysis, the present study revealed that digital simulation assistance could improve the accuracy of hip revision acetabular prosthesis implantation, reduce postoperative shortening of the affected limb, especially for surgeons with relatively little experience in hip revision surgery, and greatly reduce the occurrence of complications such as hip dislocation because of poor postoperative prosthesis position.