PROGRESS IN PREVENTION OF LATE DEVELOPMENTAL DISLOCATION OF THE HIP BY SONOGRAPHIC NEWBORN HIP SCREENING - RESULTS OF A COMPARATIVE FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

Effective prevention of late developmental dislocation of the hip (DDH ) has become a reality because a safe diagnosis can be obtained as ear ly as possible by using the original sonographic method of Graf. Corre ct sonographic diagnosis must be immediately followed by adequate and biomechanically rational and consistent therapeutic management and lon g-term follow-up. Results of a strictly comparative follow-up study un derscore the enormous progress in the quality of therapeutic results o btained with a general sonographic newborn hip ''screening'' directly in the maternity ward: Successful anatomic healing by conservative tre atment without femoral head necrosis, without operation, and without l ate DDH is consistently achieved and costs less when sonographic asses sment is made in the first days of life. For these reasons, the Austri an government has included sonographic neonatal hip screening in its g eneral health prevention program and has reimbursed the cost of this p reventive procedure since 1992.