spica cast Archives

Daily Life

Isabelle Hip Dysplasia Updates

Posted on January 15, 2018

7 months after our first visit to the orthopaedic doctor, we finally got the (mostly) good news we had been waiting for. Isabelle had another xray this morning and it looks like her hips are close enough to normal that she won’t need any further treatment. They were looking for an angle of 25 degrees, 30 requires more treatment, and her right is at 27 degrees.

She still has mild hip dysplasia, and probably will her whole life, but her hips are both in the sockets so she is not eligible for a cast or brace. The only way to correct the angles would be an extensive surgery followed by a long recovery, and her doctor doesn’t think mild hip dysplasia would cause enough problems to warrant that.

She will still be able to run and play sports and go about her life normally. The possible long-term implications of mild hip dysplasia might be arthritis in that hip when she is 50 or 60, and IF that happens, they can correct it with surgery then. It did not make sense to do a surgery now on the possibility of “IF”. So, while it wasn’t perfect news, we are happy that her hips are in the sockets and she will live a normal life. We will go back in 4 months for another xray just to check that things are continuing to improve (or not get worse, which is unlikely.) Thanks everyone for all the positive vibes and support during all of this ?

Daily Life

Second Opinion for Isabelle’s Hips

Posted on November 1, 2017

Second opinion for Isabelle’s hips… I do feel some relief having seen another doctor, but also didn’t really get the news I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear that her xrays actually looked great and that we were done. But apparently at this point, all we can do is wait.

All we can do is wait.

Her xrays were, in fact, *mostly* good. Like 80% good. But there was a tiny bit of cause for concern. The dr said the last bit will likely correct itself, which is what we are hoping for. He said he couldn’t give exact numbers, but said that he would estimate 9/10 babies that he has seen that have had success with the Pavlik Harness go on to have healthy hips with no further intervention.

If we do need further intervention at around a year, it would be a body cast.

But if we do need further intervention at around a year, it would be a body cast. I know there is no sense worrying about it at this point because there is nothing we can do, but the thought of her in a body cast, especially at 12 months once she is walking and really exploring her world, breaks my heart. In the meantime, she is free to stand and crawl and do whatever and hopefully her hips will continue to develop normally. Please send positive vibes our way today. I’m having kind of a hard time. ?