Perthes Association website

My 3 year old son has been diagnosed with Perthes in the last couple of months. I've been to see the consultant at the local hospital who was not particularly helpful and inidctaed there was nothing more he could do?!!! He spent most of the 10 minutes of the apppointment speaking into his tape recorder. I'm frustrated and angry that noone has been able to advise us on the plan of action for the next few months/years. My wife and I have been having a bit of a tough time and have been worried sick. I've requested another appointment with another consultant who I hope can advise better on the course of action to be taken.

My son has a limp and complains of groin pain and his x-rays show that the femural head has collapsed - as one typically sees in such cases. He also has a 1cm difference in leg-length. I wanted to know if anyone else has a child who has similar symptoms and what the medics have prescribed. Is there anything specific I should be asking the consultant on the next appointment.

Any advice/guidance would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Jo, my wife and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to speak today. It has been really helpful to both of us. We know now some of the things to expect over the coming year and hopefully the right questions to ask when we see the consultant next. I thought it might be useful if I added some of the questions here that sprung to mind when we spoke earlier for others who may be in a similar position as we are.

Leg-length differences I understand can be due to the compression and deterioration in the femural head which reduces the leg length from the hip. This can be corrected short term by traction (if severe and the child is suffering considerably) or by adding height to the childs shoes to prevent the "waddling" effect.

You mentioned that your son had an Arthagram (?) to investigate the severity of the condition in more detail - this is certainly something that I will ask the physician about on the next visit.

We weren't really advised on restrictions for our son in his activities but I think we will try and ensure that he doesn't run/jump around too much - another question to ask for the next visit.

How long does it normally take for the femural head to rebuild? I guess it's different for each child, but in general terms? You mentioned that this is the more critical part of the process as you need to ensure that the joint remains in place to avoid problems later.

I'll keep you posted on how things progress but for now we're continuing with the physiotherapy to keep my son's hip mobile. Thanks again for your help.

Hello jchaffey and Hello to Ali
Guys I've been a Bi-lateral Perthes sufferer as a child. I was diagnosed in 1973 aged 2. I've had various operational procedures done, but I must warn of the dangers of operations to the femur head at the early years of life (ages upto 18-21) Try to ask yourself and the consultant if the operation is worth while and will it effect the long term growth of that limb? Ali you mentioned leg length issues, well if you operate on the femur, whilst the child is in a growing phase, this can result in the leg being short permanently. Apart from my initial operations at the age of 2 years old and 4 years old to stabilise the hip joint, I had various preventative and passive procedures as a child to ease the effects of pain that Perthes caused. Only when I had finished growing, did I have surgery to help correct the errors in the hips, caused by Perthes. This way I didn't have too much in the way of stunted growth. Hope this information is of use for you both. The best of luck to you both.

Hello Rose
What is it that you would like to know, I'll try and answer any question possible. I've been your son, I too was diagnosed at the age of 2 years old (albeit back in 1973!) Just post on here and I'll try and do my best. If in any doubt, do get in touch with your GP and consultant. Hope I can help a little.