Morphological Changes and Concentricity of the Hip Joint During Gradual Reduction in Infants with Late-Detected Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: A Retrospective Study

The relationship between hip morphological changes and joint concentricity in infants with late-detected developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) treated with gradual reduction remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated hip morphological changes and concentricity in infants with late-detected unilateral DDH using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during gradual reduction.

We enrolled 20 infants aged ≥ 12 months with unilateral DDH. Treatment comprised continuous traction, a hip-spica cast, and an abduction brace. MRI was performed before treatment, immediately after hip-spica cast placement, after cast removal, and at the end of the brace. We evaluated the acetabulum and femoral head morphology and joint concentricity.

The mean age was 25 months, and female sex and the left side were predominant. Before treatment, the acetabulum was small and shallow and the femoral head was spherically flat on the affected side. Immediately after the continuous traction, the affected acetabulum and femoral head were still smaller than the healthy/contralateral one. However, they improved to a deeper acetabulum and round femoral head. Intra-articular soft tissue (IAST) and femoral–acetabular distance (FAD) continuously decreased, indicating gradual improvement in joint concentricity. Deeper formation of the acetabulum and round shaping of the femoral head had occurred even in non-concentric reduction.

The shape and concentricity of the hip joint improved after treatment; however, the acetabulum and femoral head remained small. The deeper acetabulum and round femoral head were observed the non-concentric reduction before the concentric reduction was achieved. The continuous decrease in IAST and FAD indicates effective post-traction therapy.