PurposeIn hip dysplasia the Pemberton osteotomy can modify the shape of the acetabulum and is indicated for children aged between two and 12 when the triradiate cartilage is still open. However, there have been concerns about acetabular retroversion following this type of osteotomy. The studies, however, have been based on plain radiographs. The aim of our investigation was to assess the 3D acetabular orientation in patients with previous Pemberton osteotomy after skeletal maturation.MethodsTen patients with 12 operated hips were included who received Pemberton osteotomy for hip dysplasia between January 3, 2005 and March 25, 2011. Mean age at surgery and at follow-up were 7.2 years (sd 3.7) and 19.2 years (sd 3.7), respectively. MRIs were conducted with 1.5 T. Besides the measurement of acetabular version, the analysis included alpha angles, acetabular sector angles (ASAs) as well as modified ASAs (cartilage covered area angles). Furthermore, the presence of osteoarthritis (OA) as well as acetabular retroversion was determined on plain radiographs. Patient-related outcome measures included the international Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT) and EuroQol-5-Dimensions (EQ5D) scores.ResultsIn comparison with the contralateral native and healthy hips the operated hips showed similar version (19.5° (sd 4.6°) versus 18.6° (sd 7.0°); p = 0.974). Also, there were no differences in terms of femoral head sphericity (alpha angles) and acetabular coverage (ASA angles). Five of 12 Pemberton hips showed signs of beginning OA (Kellgren-Lawrence classification I or II) while none of the non-operated hips did. Patients who received surgery before the age of six years had similar functional and radiological results when compared with patients who were older than six years at surgery. Among all patients, iHOT was 91.9 (sd 10.0) and EQ5D was 90.3 (sd 7.3)).ConclusionThe Pemberton osteotomy provides good long-term radiographic and functional results without compromising acetabular version or coverage.Level of evidenceLevel III: retrospective comparative study.