©1994 British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery 030i-620X/94/4RiS $2.00

In 1946, the Judet brothers performed their first ‘resection-reconstruction ’ of the femoral head (Judet 1947) using a prosthesis made entirely of polymethylmethacrylate (PMM.A). The early implants broke frequently and were later reinforced by a steel rod (Judet and Judet 1950). Failures continued, however, and use of the prosthesis was abandoned decades ago. Case report. In 1952, a 12-year-old girl had a Judet hip arthroplasty for degenerative changes secondary to con-genital hip dislocation (Fig. 1). Seven years later she felt some pain and was told that the implant had migrated (Fig. 2), but she was then lost to follow-up. In 1984 she had total replacement of the opposite hip for pain greater than that in the loosened acrylic prosthesis (Fig. 3). connective tissue around the loose rod. Histologica