Hip Dysplaysia Support Group

[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