Prospective study of congenital dislocation of the hip

Abstract

A prospective study involving 62 newborns diagnosed as having subluxable or dislocatable hips has established the efficacy of treating such cases from birth. Patients were treated first with a simple abduction splint, leading from a plastic abduction brace to the Pavlik harness and finally, a hip spica. Routine clinical examination showed this to be necessary until hip stability was achieved. This approach, together with continuing, detailed, clinical examinations, produced a 100% success rate with no iatrogenic complications.