Watching and waiting in chronic hip pain

Abstract

An 18-year-old man was referred to our hospital for a planned total hip replacement. He had a long history of reduced mobility and pain in his left hip because of a developmental bone disorder, dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (DEH). The teenager was first suspected of having DEH following a consultation when he was 10 years old, but because of his young age, the medical team at the time decided to manage his condition conservatively. They were concerned a more interventionist approach was inappropriate at a young age as he had manageable symptoms and delaying hip replacement surgery would allow him to reach skeletal maturity.