worried about possible hip problem (dysplasia?) in 5 month old dd.

[zambooloo]

Hi I have a few worries about things i have noticed about my dd's legs...

• she has uneven creases on her legs and bum
• one leg seems a bit longer than the other
• she went through a stage where one leg clicked a bit when I wiggled it but this stopped a while ago.

I've googled - silly I know- but now I am panicing about hip dysplasia (sp?). I've read that if not treated before 6 months old then she will need surgery & to wear casts etc for months.

Does anyone have any experience or ideas re. These symptoms? I think I'll take her to dr tomorrow.

Thanks.

My DD had very uneven creases and always slumped to one side when sitting, my HV picked up on the creases, has yours not??

Anyway, she went for an xray and has normal hips, I definitely think you should see your Dr or HV, if anything just to put your mind at ease!

Hi
I would take her to the doc tbh at this age the most reliable method would be a hip x ray or check with the hip clinic. Don t panic thoufh. It s a good sign that the hip clicked but stopped now . Possible it could have been a little unstable but improved now. Go will be able examine and tell if it s dislocate able or not.

If she needs treatment it is better to get it started sooner rather than later so I would get the doctor to check it out and they can organise a referral to an hip clinic for you from there. As far as I m aware thought when her 6 week check and hospital exams ore discharge would have been done they always examine for hip stability.
Am sure therefore it will be fine but always good to check it checke out. Good luck

No advice re symptoms, but if you have her in e.g. a Baby Bjorn/Mothercare type sling, or bouncy chairs, etc where her legs are in a stretched out position this can contribute to hip dysplasia. Other slings like Ergos, wraps, mei tais etc (not used facing outwards) will keep her legs tucked in a kind of frog leg position, which makes sure the hip is in its socket properly and can help prevent or fix the problem.

Uneven creases have been Shen to have very low correlation with dh afaik

Take her to the doctors. The casts are really not that big an issue at this age.

I used to childmind a little girl with hip dysplasia. She was only about 10 months old when she had an operation to right it and she was in a leg cast for a couple of months. She coped just fine and now she is all fixed and running around like any other 5 year old.

The casts aren't nearly as scary as you think. I was so worried about being able to mind her when she was in it, but given that she didn't know what moving around was like anyway, there was never any tears. The nappy aspect of it, was also very easy!

Anyway, you are no where near that yet and hopefully won't be. I just wanted to take some worry away about the whole thing! Hope that's OK!

Just to say thank you for all the advice. Took dd to dr - he did a lot of fiddling around with her legs etc and said they were fine. He also stretched her legs out and they are the same length so that made me feel a bit silly! He said uneven creases are v common and that she is fine, what a relief!!

That's good news. Don't feel silly about it. That's what doctors are there for. You'd have felt a whole lot worse if you'd ignored it and there was a problem futher down the line.

Glad all s ok. It a good to get stuff checked out. Don't feel silly about it. DDH can e missed sometimes so
It s great you ve gotten the all clear -
Now anytime your ds scoots to one side or turns the leg into a funny position you won't e torturing yourself wonderig if ...... You ll know it s normal development and all s been ok d!