Patient-specific guide for partial acetabular socket replacement

1. A method for a partial socket replacement comprising:

mounting a patient-specific acetabular guide on an acetabulum of a patient, wherein the acetabular guide is configured to mate to the patient's acetabulum in only one position;

guiding a cutting tool through a patient-specific bore of the acetabular guide, wherein the patient-specific bore of the acetabular guide is configured to overlay a defect in the acetabulum of the patient;

removing damaged tissue of the defect;

forming a patient-specific implantation slot by removing the damaged tissue,

engaging a patient-specific inverse acetabular guide to allograft tissue;

guiding a cutting tool along a guiding slot of the patient-specific inverse acetabular guide, the guiding slot configured during the preoperative plan to mate with a wall of the patient-specific implantation slot; and

extracting a patient-specific partial acetabular implant from the allograft tissue; and

implanting the patient-specific partial acetabular implant in the patient-specific slot, wherein the implant is the allograft tissue implant.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the partial acetabular implant has a peripheral surface configured to mate with a wall of the patient-specific implantation slot.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the partial acetabular implant has an outer surface configured to be continuous with a surrounding cartilage after implantation.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising anchoring the patient-specific partial acetabular implant in the acetabulum using an anchoring element.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acetabular guide has a first curved three-dimensional surface configured to nestingly mate in only one position to the patient's acetabulum, and a second planar surface opposite the first surface, and wherein the bore is an open bore extending between the first and second surfaces.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising controlling a depth of the patient-specific implantation slot.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein controlling a depth of the patient-specific implantation slot includes engaging a three-dimensional depth control surface of the acetabular guide to a corresponding outer surface of a distal portion of a handle of the cutting tool.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the depth control surface extends from the planar second surface of the acetabular guide.

9. A method for a partial socket replacement comprising:

mounting a patient-specific acetabular guide on an acetabulum of a patient, wherein the acetabular guide has a first curved three-dimensional surface configured to nestingly mate to the patient's acetabulum, including the acetabulum's articular cartilage and acetabular fossa in only one position;

guiding a cutting tool through a patient-specific bore of the acetabular guide, wherein the patient-specific bore passes through the first surface of the acetabular guide and is configured to overlay a defect in the acetabulum of the patient;

removing damaged tissue of the defect;

forming a patient-specific implantation slot; and

controlling a depth of the patient-specific implantation slot by the acetabular guide physically constraining the cutting tool from advancing further into the acetabulum.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the acetabular guide has a second planar surface opposite the first surface, and wherein the bore is an open bore extending between the first and second surfaces.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein controlling a depth of the patient-specific implantation slot includes engaging a three-dimensional depth control surface of the acetabular guide to a corresponding outer surface of a distal portion of a handle of the cutting tool.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the depth control surface extends from the planar second surface of the acetabular guide.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising implanting a patient-specific partial acetabular implant in the patient-specific implantation slot.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the partial acetabular implant has a peripheral surface configured to mate with a wall of the patient-specific implantation slot.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the partial acetabular implant has an outer surface configured to be continuous with a surrounding cartilage after implantation.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising anchoring the patient-specific partial acetabular implant in the acetabulum using an anchoring element.

17. A method for a partial socket replacement comprising:

mounting a patient-specific acetabular guide on an acetabulum of a patient, wherein the acetabular guide has a first curved three-dimensional surface configured to nestingly mate to the patient's acetabulum, including the acetabulum's articular cartilage and acetabular fossa in only one position, and a second planar surface opposite the first surface;

guiding a cutting tool through a patient-specific bore of the acetabular guide, wherein the patient-specific bore extends through the first and second surfaces of the acetabular guide and is configured to overlay a defect in the acetabulum of the patient;

removing damaged tissue of the defect;

forming a patient-specific implantation slot; and

controlling a depth of the patient-specific implantation slot by the acetabular guide physically constraining the cutting tool from advancing further into the acetabulum.