Hip Dysplaysia Support Group

[cannedemma]

Hi Everyone!

Withcymommy, good luck with everything with your daughter... i do not know much about the pavlik harness as my daughter was too old for that when she was diagnosd so shewent straight into the dennis brown brace... But one thing i have heard is that usually with pavlik harness healing time is faster?? Could be wrong but i think the younger they are when it is picked up the better... My daughter was just shy of six months and they said could take up to twelve months to fix but i have my fingers crossed at the next xray that she may be healing faster than they expect!

In terms of clothing i found it really hard too at th start... i actually think summer clothes are much easier... my daughter lives in bonds rompers... they come in pretty colours and patterns and are really easy to change nappies etc and are thin so they dont overheat in warmer weather... In cooler weather i use leggings and a t-shirt or overalls that button in the crotch... if u know a dressmaker u could probably get them to adjust some of the clothes to put buttons or velcro on to make it easier...

Anyway, good luck to all with their babies! I will update when i have had my xray!

[Jo-O]

Hi all,

I am new to this thread.

My little girl (first born) was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia 2 and half months back just short of 6 months old.
She was put in a DB Bar and seems to be doing quite well at this point (rolling,crawling and sitting up).

I was just wondering how long other babies, diagnosed at this age, needed to be in the brace, and how well did this work, or is it likely she will need further treatment? (ie surgery or spika)

Thankyou in advance,
Jo

[MonicaP]

Hi Everyone,
Welcome Jo! My daughter Hayley was diagnosed with hip dysplasia of the right hip at 4 months (she is now 7 months). Luckily she didn't need surgery as they were able to place the hip in manually but she had to go into a spica. We have two more weeks left (in total it has been on for 3 months with a change after 6 weeks). She is then going into a brace for 2 months, 4 weeks fulltime allowed off for baths and then 4 weeks only when she is asleep.
This is best case scenario as the surgeon told us if it isn't where they want it to be then she will have to be in the brace longer and he wasn't really willing to say how much longer. When they changed her spica he said the hip felt stable which was a good sign but I guess it's one of those things we just have to play by ear. He hasn't mentioned the possibility of surgery just that the brace may have to stay on longer. I hope this is of some help to you.
I wish you all the best Jo and I hope the DB bar does its job.
Monica

[Jo-O]

Hi Everyone,
Welcome Jo! My daughter Hayley was diagnosed with hip dysplasia of the right hip at 4 months (she is now 7 months). Luckily she didn't need surgery as they were able to place the hip in manually but she had to go into a spica. We have two more weeks left (in total it has been on for 3 months with a change after 6 weeks). She is then going into a brace for 2 months, 4 weeks fulltime allowed off for baths and then 4 weeks only when she is asleep.
This is best case scenario as the surgeon told us if it isn't where they want it to be then she will have to be in the brace longer and he wasn't really willing to say how much longer. When they changed her spica he said the hip felt stable which was a good sign but I guess it's one of those things we just have to play by ear. He hasn't mentioned the possibility of surgery just that the brace may have to stay on longer. I hope this is of some help to you.
I wish you all the best Jo and I hope the DB bar does its job.
Monica

Hi Monica,

Thanks for your feedback, I'm just trying to get a real outlook on the chances of th\e DB Bar working, the doctors and Orthotics all have diferent stories.
I'm glad the Spika helped with your little one, they adapt to the brace pretty well I've found.
I'm just hoping we can avoid surgery, I can't bear the thought of my little angel being wheeled off and cut open, if that means the bar for a while longer, then that's fine with me.

Anyway, good lauck with everything, I hope it all works out for Hayley.

[nicoli]

Jo-O - my daughter Scarlett has been in a DB brace for almost a year now after spending 3 months in a pavlik harness. She is now 18 months. She started off wearing the DB brace for 23 hours a day and then only at night as there was a quick improvement. Since then however there has not been enough of an improvement to be brace free entirely and our orth say there is a 90% chance she will need an op before she is of school age to completely correct her right hip. We go back for our next appt next Tuesday after 6 months, and we expect her to come out of the brace as we were told it will not make any difference after 18 moths of age. Worst case is that since starting walking 4 months ago her hip has deteriorate in which case she may need surgery now. Best case is it has improved and won't need surgery at all. That is obviously what I am secretly hoping for.

As for her development in the brace she can roll, crawl and stand up in her brace now but becasue she is only in it in bed she doesn't really get to test it out much. She has become so accustomed to wearing in that after her bath when we are getting her ready for bed she says "brace". I am actually a little worried how she will go at night without it.

Kell - I hope you are doing OK becasue I am sure Chloe will be fine. It's always us parents who beat ourselves up over it. It is so sad to see your baby with limited movement and the frustration on their face, but it does get better. In the beginning I used to cry every time I looked at Scarlett in her harness and then I felt guilty for crying all over her! I hope you got some answers at your appt.

Take care all

[cannedemma]

Hi all,

I am new to this thread.

My little girl (first born) was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia 2 and half months back just short of 6 months old.
She was put in a DB Bar and seems to be doing quite well at this point (rolling,crawling and sitting up).

I was just wondering how long other babies, diagnosed at this age, needed to be in the brace, and how well did this work, or is it likely she will need further treatment? (ie surgery or spika)

Thankyou in advance,
Jo

hi jo,

your circumstances sound pretty much the same as mine, my daughte charlotte went into DBB just before 6 months, she gets checked on 6th March to see how its progressing and to be honest it is in the back of my mid that she might need further intervention like surgery or a spica... fingers crossed she doesnt... my orthotics lady at the RCH melbourne told me that it is unusual for the DBB to fix a baby at this age within 3 months, so i asked if it is more like 6 and she said usually more like 9 or 12, but fingers crossed all ound that it is faster!

how does your daughter handle the brace? it is great that she is rolling... did you do anything to encourage that? Charlotte will notroll in hers, she sits up and she can move around really well in reverse and circles... she is getting up on all fours and trying to crawl but cant move her legs independantly... how does your daughter crawl?

i hope that what i have said isnt upsetting, and after i have been for her next appt i am happy to give an update... (perhaps u can do the same for me as i think our babies musst be almost the same age!!) charlotte was born 3rd june...

anyway good luck!

[MonicaP]

Hi All,
Kell 4- I hope all goes well tomorrow at your appointment.
My daughter Hayley went straight into a spica at 4 months, we have two weeks left and then a brace for 2 months (hopefully that is all).
It was really hard for my husband and I at first and I was an absolute mess in the hospital on the day it went on, but you do get used to it and although Hayley was terribly upset for the first 24 hours after that she was fine and has been her happy self ever since. She adapted far more quickly then her mum and dad.
I hope this is of some help and I will be thinking of you tomorrow. Let us know how it all goes. If you have any questions about the spica feel free to ask.
Monica
XXX

[Kell4]

Hi All,
Kell 4- I hope all goes well tomorrow at your appointment.
My daughter Hayley went straight into a spica at 4 months, we have two weeks left and then a brace for 2 months (hopefully that is all).
It was really hard for my husband and I at first and I was an absolute mess in the hospital on the day it went on, but you do get used to it and although Hayley was terribly upset for the first 24 hours after that she was fine and has been her happy self ever since. She adapted far more quickly then her mum and dad.
I hope this is of some help and I will be thinking of you tomorrow. Let us know how it all goes. If you have any questions about the spica feel free to ask.
Monica
XXX

Hi MonicaP and All

well at the ortho. app all was not well, my baby chloe who will be 7months on the 10th Feb. is only 6.3kgs and needs surgery on her right hip and a spica, Im sooooo damn scared she is sooooo little I dont know what to do and its going to get worse the day of the opp. (still un-known) please feel free to add me to msn:kell27-4@hotmail.com I dont know wat to expect, im sooooo lost my poor baby dont know what she's in for yet and we got 3other kiddies to look after, its going to be sooooo very hard, xxxxx take care to all

[belfie]

hi folks,

I'm hoping to pick your brains pretty pls!! We've been referred by our paediatrician for an u/s as my 4 m.o. DS has a "clicky" left hip - only just picked up in the last few weeks by our MHCN. In all previous checks by MHCN, paed & GP he was fine. So in regard to the u/s I was just wondering if there are any particular questions that are useful to ask or information to watch out for? Our u/s is midday on Monday. And do you know if you usually get the results on the spot? Or did you have to wait?

I guess I'm particularly wary cos i've got a girlfriend who's bub has DDH and she was initially told it was really minor and to go see her paed a few months later... when she rang him to double check, after reviewing the case he said no, it's not minor come straight in and her bub has worn a brace since. So I guess I just want to make sure I don't get fobbed off or delayed if it's potentially risky.

TIA,
Belfie

[MonicaP]

Hi All,
Kell4 and Belfie my heart goes out to you both. I know exactly how you feel.
Kell4- To give you some idea of what to expect the spica Hayley went into went from her waist to her toes and had a bar across it between the ankles (they leave a hole around the groin area). It was very upsetting to see at first and also hard because she was also upset. However she did adapt to it very well and by the next day she was fine although it took alot longer for me to get used to it, it is very hard to see your gorgeous baby in a spica and I cried alot for the first few days. Hayley is also 7 months now and weighs 6.5kg and like I said before she adapted very quickly to it. It did affect her night sleep for awhile but we were told to expect this. I also have an older son and after some intial questioning he has been really good and understanding with her (he is 5). Hayley is completely immobile in her spica so we have to make sure that we are alternating her positions alot so she isn't always in the same postion ie on tummy, laying down, propping her up (a bean bag is good for this). We have two weeks left in the spica (it has been on for 3 months with a change at 6 weeks and 10 weeks) and then she goes into a brace for 2 months. The x-ray we had last wednesday showed the hip to be nicely in the socket so although it has been difficult to see her in it, it has so far done its job.
Belfie- Hayley was four months when her dysplasia was detected (missed by 2 paeds and a clinic nurse). She has it only in her right hip. It was a clinic nurse (a different one) who picked it up. She wrote a letter which I took to my GP the next day. He sent me for an x-ray and we got the results that day. He then referred me to a paediatric orthopedic surgeon and I got in a week later (we asked to be put on a cancellation list so got in a bit earlier). He said that although she was only 4 months its not as early as they like to find it so she had go into a spica for three months. He put the spica on about 5 days after our first appointment. I would think you should get the results of the u/s back the same day and then get in to see the ortho as soon as possible, so that everything should happen quickly. From the time of detection to the time the spica went on was 2 weeks. Questions I asked included developmental delays eg rolling, crawling etc, length of time spica and brace will be on for (5 months for Hayley if everything goes the way it should). I found that our ortho explained alot to us in the initial meeting and my questions just stemmed from that conversation.
Please feel free to ask me any questions as I know your heads are probably swimming at the moment. I hope I have been of some help and I wish you both well!
Monica

[minimatron]

Hi Just letting you know that rebeccas review went well. The specialst seems to think that it will resolve itself. Her thigh creases are a bit uneven and her left hip is stiffer than the right, but its stable and he couldnt dislocate it. We go back in 9 weeks to see if there is change. Thanks for listening, I'll be back in 8 weeks to vent again coz I know for sure I will be nervous!!!

[nicoli]

Hi guys

I just found out at my 20 week scan that we are having a boy! At least his chances of having DDH is slightly less because of his gender.

Nicole

[Jo-O]

hi jo,

how does your daughter handle the brace? it is great that she is rolling... did you do anything to encourage that? Charlotte will notroll in hers, she sits up and she can move around really well in reverse and circles... she is getting up on all fours and trying to crawl but cant move her legs independantly... how does your daughter crawl?

i hope that what i have said isnt upsetting, and after i have been for her next appt i am happy to give an update... (perhaps u can do the same for me as i think our babies musst be almost the same age!!) charlotte was born 3rd june...

anyway good luck!

Hi Cannedemma,

Thanks for your feedback, nothing upsetting (Ithink we've studied all possibilities nad are ready for anything). The doctors just won't say anything straight out these days!
Beth handles the brace really well, initially she went a little quieter than usual, but after a week she was back to her old self.
She just figured out how to roll all by herself (she's pretty determined), she kind of pulls one foot up near her head which makes the other one go out, it's quite comical to see, as for crawling, she sarted just getting up on all fours and rocking around, then suddenly she was off, it actually looks like a pretty normal crawling movement, as one leg pulls forward the other stays back, a little like a see-saw.

We have our next appointment on thursday, so I will let you know how things go.