Anyone else's child tested for an abnormal hip?

[g1nthemystery]

At his 6 week check up my son's right hip tested "abnormal" as it was clearly clicking. The doctor said they don't usually worry about it too much but he's been referred due to all 4 of his paternal uncles (and granddad) having a form of juvenile arthritis. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this and what the result was?

My dd1 had a clicky hip picked up at her 6 week check. We had a referral to the hospital for ultrasound to measure the joint, but while we waited they recommended doubling up on nappies as it holds the hips out in a better position. I can't remember how long the waiting time was (dd1 is now 18!) but by the time the appointment had come around the hips weren't clicky any more :)

Do they still recommend double nappies? hopefully it's something your ds will grow out of :)

DS was referred for the ultrasound but it must have sorted itself out by then as nothing else happened. He's two now and no problems at all (well, with his hip anyway!)

Thanks for answering!

Great to hear your LO out grew it.

We weren't advised anything other than to wait for the letter in the post :( so no doubling up on nappies! He's 16 wks now and still no letter, and I'm doing a lot of chasing to find out what's going on. Bit frustrating as his uncle just had to have a hip replacement at 19. We have noticed that he clearly rolls over from front to back always on his right side (so only using his left leg/hip)... :(

Yes, DD was breech, had clicks hips, and aysemmetrical bottom creases - all signs of hip abnormalities. Letter came through when she was 8wks, a very quick ultrasound showed she was fine. Obviously it's hard not to worry with your family history, but there is so much they can do now even if a problem was detected.

Thanks MamaDuckling - I'm sure that if there is something it's fixable. He's a strong boy so I'm hoping it is just a phase!

My son had this. He had to have a little harness type thing on to hold his legs out for about eight weeks and that was it. My next two children also had to have scans but we're both fine.
Chances are your son will be fine too but I think you're doing the right thing chasing it up as if he does need something done it is sooo much easier to get it sorted before they start to want to crawl. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your help! Hoping to hear from the hospital soon and get it sorted!

DD was scanned as routine because I had hip dysplasia myself. We were told instantly at the ultrasound it was fine. All quite quick and she wasn't too bothered by the procedure.
Hope it goes well.

I had hip dysplasia too, so DS was screened automatically. The first one showed his left hip was still immature so we had to go back again a few weeks later, when it was fine. I don't remember the actual ultrasound bothering him much, although i stuffed him
full of milk first! I am fine now, btw, I had a harness for a few months as a baby, followed by reinforced nappies until my hips formed properly.

DD2 had clicky hips, but it was put down to the speed of her birth and when checked at 6 weeks, I was told she was fine. Fast forward 14 years and we moved house. She developed chronic pain in her side/back and after lots of being messed around, was finally sent to orthopedics to shut her up. There, they discovered a degenerative back disorder and horrible hips. She ended up having a fairly major operation on one hip 2 years ago and has been told that there is a fair chance she will need that hip replaced by the time she is 30. I would be glad, in your shoes, that they are paying close attention. My DD's problem would not have come to light if we had continued living in our bungalow, but as soon as stairs were introduced into the equation, things flared up and nobody had a clue. I had also done helpful things like let her go horse riding, as well.

Sorry to hear that LittleCandle - you say you had a fast labour? How quick was it? I only ask because I ended up having a precipitous labour at 37 weeks - it only lasted 3h 18mins but I remember it was horrendous. DS did get stuck and I had to have forceps. He ended up with a hematoma from the delivery and trembling from how quick it was - just wondering if there's a link to his hip and how quick I had him now :(

My labour was 1 1/2 hours with her. I had a quick labour with DD1 as well, 3hrs 10 minutes. I think her hips might have been clicky as well, but to be honest, i don't really remember and they are fine now. DD2 is also much taller than her sister - about 8 inches taller - and grew very quickly.

There's no way you should have been waiting more than a couple of weeks for the scan, are you sure a referral has been done? I'd be on the phone today, you really need the appointment. Hopefully everything will be fine but if he does need treatment it's much more successful if started early.

I'd phone the ultrasound department and ask if they have your referral. Ours wasn't done properly and I had to get them to re-do it. I only found out as I called the ultrasound department and They had no record of us.

I would chase up the referral. My dd's clicky hips were picked up by our GP at her 24 hour check and she had an ultrasound scan within a week and went straight into a pavlick harness which she had to wear for 23 hours a day. She then had monthly USS to check progress and was gradually weaned out of the harness at around 8 months old. if your son does had hip dysplasia the sooner it gets treated the better.

Thanks everyone- I've contacted the hospital but they said they would call me back and haven't starting to get really fed up now, and I bet our old surgery didn't actually send off a referral as they said they would- they're a pretty awful surgery tbh. Going to have to do a lot of chasing seems like

My daughter was born with a bilateral hip dislocation and had to wear a Pavlik harness for 5 months.
You need to push to be seen, if he has an issue with his hip it needs assessed and treated ASAP.
The surgery for this is not fun if it is not treated at this early stage.

Hi, OP. I suggest you get this chased up pronto. At 16 weeks your DS is soon going to be outside of the ultrasound window and would need an Xray which of course would mean radiation he shouldn't have to have.

Having said that, if he does have to have an Xray instead of a scan, it would still be prudent to do it.

I was born with dislocation and had a splint for most of first year. Then had 'irritable hip' in pre teens requiring traction.

Happy ending..

Now running marathons in my 40s

Hope your DS is ok,