3-DIMENSIONAL SONOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL DYSPLASIA OF THE HIP - PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

PURPOSE: To determine the value of three-dimensional (3D) sonography i n the evaluation of developmental dysplasia of the hip. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 3D reconstruction and section analysis were performed on 38 d ata acquisitions obtained in nine patients with a clinical diagnosis o f developmental dysplasia of the hip. Data were obtained mostly in the coronal plane, and section-analysis and 3D volume reconstruction imag es were generated.RESULTS: Of the 32 image sets obtained in the corona l plane, the technical quality of 27 (84%) section-analysis images and 25 (78%) spatial-revolving images was judged to be satisfactory. CONC LUSION: In addition to permitting global visualization of the hip, 3D sonography offers imaging in the sagittal and craniocaudal projections , something no other modality can offer. 3D sonography can also demons trate the relationship of the femoral head to the acetabulum and femor al head containment more thoroughly than does conventional sonography.