The fate of untreated developmental dislocation of the hip: Long-term follow-up of nine patients (vol 19, pg 641, 1999)

Nine patients with developmental dislocation of the hip who had no treatmen t other than observation were followed up for an average of 46 years. Seven of the 9 patients had bilateral hip dislocations. None of the hips develop ed avascular necrosis. Overall clinical and functional results were very sa tisfactory despite uniformly unsatisfactory radiographs. These patients ach ieved a better quality of life than have many patients of similar age who h ave undergone surgical treatments aimed at reducing such late-presenting hi p dislocations.