Treatment of unstable hips in children with Ilizarov hip reconstruction: A retrospective analysis of six cases

Abstract

Introduction: Hip instability in older children and adolescents is mainly because of the loss of bone in the proximal femur or conditions that cause loss of the fulcrum. These may be related to infantile septic hip sequelae or neglected developmental dysplasia of the hip. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed six patients with hip instability treated by Ilizarov hip reconstruction from 2004 to 2007 at our institute. The mean age of the patients was 10 years (range 7–14 years). Results: The etiology was septic hip sequelae (Choi type IV) in four patients and neglected developmental dysplasia of hip in two patients. The fixator was kept for an average of 7 months (range 6–8 months). The average follow-up was 3 years. The visual analog score for pain improved from a preoperative mean of 8 to 2 postoperatively. The gait improved in all the patients and the leg length discrepancy improved from a preoperative mean of 5 to 1 cm postoperatively. All the limbs were aligned to a satisfactory level with the mean mechanical axis deviation of 3 mm (laterally) and pelvic mechanical axis of 90°. The Harris hip score improved from 41 preoperatively to 84 postoperatively ( P Conclusion: Ilizarov Hip Reconstruction is an excellent salvage procedure for adolescent patients with unstable hips, giving good results in the short-term.