Post-Pavlik Harness Results for Hip Dysplasia
The Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics offers medical opinions on various topics. Ideas, hints, suggestions, and tips are published on an opinion page called On the Other Hand. In the November/December 2005 journal Dr. Carl L. Stanitski reviews the management of hip dysplasia on this page.
Current treatment for hip dysplasia in young children is with a special device called the Pavlik harness. It looks like a diaper-sling that holds the child’s legs far apart. This position puts the head of the femur (thigh bone) deeply and firmly into the hip socket. It helps prevent hip dislocations.
But what happens when the harness or other treatment method such as a body cast are no longer used? Dr. Stanitski points out there are no answers to this question. No guidance exists to tell the doctor what to use (if anything) or for how long (if at all).
The author of this month's "On the Other Hand" points out the need for a multicenter study to help answer this and other questions. Children should be followed at least five years or until age eight when the hip socket is fully formed.
References: Carl L. Stanitski, MD. Subsequent Orthotic Management of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip. In Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. November/December 2005. Vol. 25. No. 6. Pp. 815-816.
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