Evaluation of benign acetabular lesions with excision through the Ludloff approach.

Six patients with poorly defined chronic hip symptoms (length of time from initial symptoms to definitive diagnoses ranged from four months to three years) were eventually found to have benign lesions in the region of the acetabular fovea. All of these patients had seen multiple physicians including orthopedic surgeons before the definitive diagnosis was made. Four lesions were not visualized on routine roentgenographs. Various imaging modalities were necessary to demonstrate and localize these lesions. Excision through an anteromedial approach (Ludloff) in five cases required minimal dissection, operative time, and blood loss. The approach does not compromise definitive surgery (external or internal hemipelvectomy) in the unlikelihood that the lesion is found to be malignant.