Surgical Management of the Walking Child With Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

Developmental dysplasia of the hip describes an anatomical abnormality of the hip joint in which femoral head and acetabulum have an incongruent relationship, ranging from acetabular dysplasia with insufficient acetabular coverage of the femoral head to complete dislocation. Treatment of the ambulatory child with developmental dysplasia of the hip usually requires a surgical reduction, often combined with a shortening femoral osteotomy and a pelvic osteotomy. This paper describes the techniques employed in the surgical management of a dislocated hip in an ambulatory child.