The technique described is for reducing the difficult dislocated hip, either congenital or associated with spastic cerebral palsy. The age range of the six patients presented was from three to eleven years at the time of surgery. The operative technique is simple, combining the principles of open reduction with femoral shortening. Preoperative traction and soft-tissue release prior to reduction is not necessary and the consequent undesirable osteoporosis of the femoral head prior to reduction is avoided. The follow-up of these challenging cases is short (fifteen to forty months) but reveals no avascular necrosis or other significant complication. While some form of degenerative joint disease or avascular necrosis may still supervene the dislocations remain reduced, and any future reconstructive work with the hips which may be necessary should be easier and more rewarding than before.