Surgery #2: periacetabular osteotomy

The second surgery is called "periacetabular osteotomy" (PAO), which translated to the vernacular means, "we'll chisel your hip socket out of your pelvis and realign it." It requires completely cutting through the pelvis in three areas to free the socket, after which it will be realigned and screwed into place; see link above for more illustrations. The benefit of this procedure over a hip replacement is that it preserves my joint. A hip replacement would not be durable enough to last the rest of my life (assuming average life expectancy); if I were to get a total of 25 years out of a hip replacement and then a second after the first wears out, I'd be in a wheelchair with no options by age 65. A PAO helps me to get at least a few more years out of my own joint, possibly many more (some have gotten 30 more years).

Typical surgery time for this surgeon seems to be five or six hours. Right now the plan is to do this surgery two days after the first. If the first surgery goes quickly and the surgeon feels up to it, he may go ahead and do this second surgery at the same time. I'd rather do them at once, but a 10-12 hour surgery is a lot to ask of a surgeon and his crew, and the chance for error increases with tiredness.

Below is a picture of a typical PAO tool set. I think the curved tools at the top left are the bone chisels used to cut through the bone.

These three images were obtained from a Smith & Nephew tools brochure.

[UPDATED: added PAO and tools images, minor clarifications]