Post-traumatic Arthritis of the Acetabulum

Modern fracture management algorithms have improved anatomic reduction and fixation of acetabular fractures. Despite such treatment modalities, the risk of posttraumatic arthritis after acetabular fractures remains high. Treatment options predominantly involve total hip arthroplasty but can also extend to hip arthrodesis and resection arthroplasty. These surgeries require meticulous planning coupled with realistic patient expectations and can be challenging due to preexisting hardware, malunion/nonunion, infection, compromised soft tissues, and/or patient’s comorbidities. Through this chapter, we will present an algorithm for the diagnosis and surgical management of posttraumatic arthritis of the acetabulum and include case examples to highlight key principles of operative treatment for such challenging injuries.