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Hip Dysplasia
Okay I am not even sure I spelled that right...lol. My LO was born last Wednesday by c-section (she was breech) and we have been told her right hip may be dislocated completely. We ahve on appointment Thursday to have an ultrasound and then meeting with the orthepedist. They said if it is dislocated they put her in a harness for three to four months and it usually fixes the problem. Now the u/s scheduler said 95% of the time the hip is fine but I would like to hear from some moms who may have had some experience with this just to be a little prepared. I am avoiding googling as it will more than likely scare the bejesus out of me and I do not need that!
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Re: Hip Dysplasia
I had that when I was born. I am old, so I was in a cast for about 6-7 months. They do not do casts anymore. I am 6" tall and have very straight legs and walk and run great
Hope this helps a bit to cheer you up.
My son had hip dysplasia. He was also breech and only one person felt a click, no one else did. I kept bugging the pedi and she ordered an ultrasound, and sure enough, he had it. Does she also have torticollis? My son was in the Pavlik for about 4 months and now has a 100% normal hip with no complications. He hit all of his motor milestones right on time, so being in the harness didn't slow him down at all. He also had torticollis and did PT for about three months. Many times torticollis will go hand in hand with dysplasia.
The first two days of the harness were not pleasant, but once he got used to it, it really wasn't a big deal at all. Hopefully she doesn't have it, but if she does, I promise, it really isn't that bad, and since they caught it early, she will probably do great! If she does end up in the harness, baby legs are great to use underneath it.
My DD was born via c/s because she was breech. None of the doctors who checked her felt any clicks. However, it is standard practice at my pedi's office to do a hip u/s on any babies who were breech. DD had the u/s at 1 month old that showed she had mild dysplasia in her right hip. We then had an appt with a pediatric orthopedist. The ortho also did not feel any clicking, but saw the dysplasia on the u/s. Luckily, DD's was a very mild case. She wore a Pavlick harness for 12 hours/day (overnight) for 1 month. She has had 2 follow-ups and everything looks great. We have another follow-up at 18 months to make sure that everything still is developing appropriately after she starts walking.
From what I understand, when it is caught early, dysplasia (even severe cases) can be treated fairly easily with little to no long-term effects. As pp said, I hope she doesn't have it but, if she does, it's great that it was caught so soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.
When Maddie was born, my pedi told me that her right hip was clicking, and her left hip was clunking. We saw a pedi orthopedic that week, and she was placed in a Pavlik Harness for 18 weeks. As of right now, her hips are completely perfect. She also had torticollis, which apparently can go hand in hand with hip dysplasia. The ortho explained hip dysplasia to us as the difference between an ice cream bowl and a tea cup saucer. The hip should be like the bowl, but babies with hip dysplasia are more like the saucer. The harness keeps their legs in such a position that with deepen the socket.