Purpose: The purpose of this review is to present our experience in prosthetic reconstruction after resection arthroplasty, its outcome and possible complications.

Materials and methods: We carried out a retrospective study of 23 hips reconstructed after an average of 2.2 years. Inclusion criteria were: having had a resection arthroplasty, a reconstruction with joint prosthesis and a minimum follow-up of one year. For evaluation we used the Merle d’Aubigne score for pain, walking and range of motion.

Results: The operated limb was lengthened 2.9 cm (1.2–4.8). The average for pain was 4.6, for range of motion 4.3 and walking 5.2. The overall outcome, 14.1 points, was considered acceptable. 47% had good or very good outcomes. All the patients improved their ability to walk. Four patients presented dislocation of the prosthesis after reconstruction and only one patient had a reinfection.

Conclusions: Prosthetic reconstruction after resection arthroplasty is technically difficult. This is due mainly to wear in the soft tissues and changes in the amount and quality of bone stock as a result of prior surgery. The biggest gain is seen in the ability to walk while there is less improvement in pain and range of motion. Candidates for reconstruction must be carefully selected to prevent complications and/or false expectations of always achieving excellent results.