HIP DISLOCATIONS AND SUBLUXATIONS TREATED BY PETITS FREE HIP SPLINTS

Purpose of the study The management of DDH in infants less than one ye ar old is not yet definite. Many ambulant therapeutic methods are desc ribed and Pavlik's harness is widely employed. The use of Petit's spli nts is less well known and we report our experience with 169 cases. Ma terial and method Between 1973 and 1991, Petit's splints were used in 112 cases, following abduction cushions in 55 cases and after Pavlik's harness in 2 cases. 103 hips were dislocated but reducible. This perm itted progressive abduction of the hips in order to obtain the reducti on of the dislocation and to ensure stabilization by retraction of the slack articular capsule. Results Only 8 dislocations (4,7 per cent) c ouldn't be reduced by this procedure and necessitated another treatmen t. Hips were normal after 5 years of follow up in 118 cases and there were 43 residual dysplasias. 6 post reductional avascular necrosis (3, 7 per cent) were recorded as a complication of this method among which only one was a serious from. Discussion This ambulatory method for tr eatment of congenital hip dislocation seems to be forsaken by many aut hors. Nevertheless its effectiveness has been demonstrated with a comp lication rate lower than with Pavlik's harness procedure.