Hi,
I'm new to this forum. My story is that i have a 10 week old baby girl who was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia when she was 3 days old. I was told it was a severe case on both sides with one side being the far end of severe as the hip socket was not formed at all. It was completely flat.

The day she was diagnosed i cried for at least 6 hours straight. I had dreadful visions of her and only thought the worst long term outcomes. I thought of all of the dreams i had of holding her and cuddling her and bathing her that would no longer happen.

The evening she was diagnosed she went into a pavlick harness for 6 weeks. It was not what i had envisaged, in fact it really was not too much of a bother at all. the saddest bit was that we could not bathe her as she had to stay in it 24/7 and she couldn't wear some of the clothes she had been bought. I was told that the outcome of the harness was extremely good - 90% success rate.

At week 6 she had an ultrasound and there was no improvement. She was one of the 10%. The harness was removed and she was fitted for a Dennis - Browne brace. At the time this seemed so much worse but there were a few positives. I could see her feet and toes and the top part of her body was not covered. Cuddles seemed closer.

She is 10 weeks old and we have just had the next ultrasound. Unfortunately there is no improvement and her operation has been booked for the 24th sept. She will go in a Spica Cast for 6 weeks then depending on if it is closed or open surgery she will go in various braces. It just breaks my heart that my happy adorable baby will be in the cast from waist to toes. The positive is that for the next 10 days she is brace free and loving her baths already.

Sorry for the novel but i thought this was the best way to introduce myself. My next step is determining how to look after her in a cast. i have already gone back to work part time which makes things a little more difficult but on a positive note i work for an incontinence company so at least i can experiment on what the best product is to use under the nappy.

Sara