Congenital hip dislocation-any experience/ knowledge?

[Itcanwait]

My 6 week old baby girl was referred for a hip scan on Friday because I was born with congenital hip dislocation and it is known to be hereditary particularly in girls. My condition was not detected until I was 1 so the treatment included lots of surgery/plaster casts/ traction etc (I remember only a little about it). To our horror/shock, the sonographer discovered that there is a problem with one of her hips and told us quite plainly that she will be referred for treatment which will need to start soon.Obviously we have not yet seen a consultant or been given any other info. I have spent the weekend feeling devastated/confused and a bit numb.

All i know is that the treatment is much quicker/straightforward when it is detected in babies before 6 months (??) but I can't bear the wait of not knowing any more at this stage and just wondered if there's any body out there who has experience or medical knowledge about this. What can we expect?

Massive thanks to any body who can help.

My dd was born with CDH, picked up when the paed gave her the once-over shortly after her birth. He actually pulled her leg clear from her pelvis .

We were referred to an orthopaed and saw him within 2 or 3 weeks. At that point, he wasn't sure if it was still dislocated or just clicky. He referred us for ultrasound, the first session of which was inconclusive. The dates now are fuzzy but I think she was given the all clear at about 4 months.

The ultrasound wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. They have to scan both hips, and it takes a good while to do this - close on an hour.

We didn't need any treatment in the end, but if we did, it would probably have been a cloth sling.

DH was CDH and he wore double nappies for a year.

Thanks squeakyPop. The sonographer we saw mentioned that she'll probably have to wear a harness for a few months or years which startled me so I won't assume the worst just yet until we've had further appointments...

Itcanwait, we recently had a scare with dd2's hips (she's 21 mos) so I researched a fair bit: best place for support and info, if your dd is definitely going to need treatment, is STEPS - just google them, and have a look at message boards.

My cousin had CDH at birth and wore a Pavliks (?) harness for a few months, was then reviewed, and was ok. A few kids need further treatment, but if its caught early, most don't - and babies get used to the harness really fast, I'm told.

Good luck, hope you get some info/reassurance soon - its not that uncommon a problem, so hoepfully you'll find lots of people who can give you personal experience!

Both of my dd's hips were dislocated, and she started wearing a Pavlik harness when she was about the same age as your dd.

The harness was soft, and it barely bothered her. It was a bit of a pain because we couldn't take it off at all for the first couple of weeks, so dd couldn't have a proper bath. Some clothes didn't fit her properly because of the position of her legs. I think she wore it for 2-3 months, and her hips went from a grade 5 (which is very bad) to being absolutely fine. It was well worth persevering with.