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Our son has Perthes hip disease. We saw the X-rays with the deformed head. The surgeon is suggesting an osteotomy. I know they will cut out a piece of bone from the femur, but I don't exactly get how that's going to help.

Perthes disease (sometimes referred to as Legg-Calvé-Perthes) is the collapse of the hip joint due to a loss of blood supply to the capital femoral epiphysis (growth center of the hip). It occurs most often in children between the ages of four and eight. The blood supply eventually returns, and the bone heals. How the bone heals determines how much problem the condition will cause. This condition can lead to serious problems in the hip joint later in life. To help prevent deformity and keep a stable hip, surgery may be needed. If the acetabulum is too vertical (socket if facing outward rather than downward), an osteotomy is advised. A wedge- or pie-shaped piece of bone is removed to change the angle of the femur (thigh bone). This creates a sharper angle and aligns the femoral head more sharply into the acetabulum (hip socket). Coverage of the femoral head by the acetabulum is important during growth and development of the hip. Weight-bearing and pressure are two forces that join together to form and shape the round femoral head. These forces help match up the surface shape and configuration of the acetabulum with the femoral head. Sometimes, if the acetabulum is too shallow, another surgery is needed to reshape the socket. The surgeon chooses the best way to manage this problem based on symptoms and severity of the condition.

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