By the time the hip progresses to the point of collapse, it may be too late to preserve the shape of the femoral head. Treatment before the age of eight seems to get the best results. And treatment this early means non-operative care may be enough.

The goal of conservative care is to maintain motion, reduce inflammation, and keep the head of the femur in the socket. This can be done with anti-inflammatory medications, traction, and sometimes bracing. When these measures fail, surgery to correct the problem is possible.

There's no reason not to try a course of nonoperative care wherever your location. It will take six months to see if this plan of action works anyway. Then you can have the surgeon at home review the case and plan the next step.