Uneven leg crease & small indentation in back of 9m old - any words of wisdom?

[imoscarsmum]

Just had 8m check (1m late) by hv on DD. She was tired and would not stand, but has put weight on her legs before, though is not yet crawling but can hold herself on hands and knees.
Hv checked leg creases and said they were uneven just above knee. She also said she had a small indentation in her lower back (about 1.5cm above her bum crease) and her left leg is possibly fractionally longer than her right (can't see it myself). I'm off to GP on Friday.

I've now heard horror stories about what this could mean (and stupidly googled it). Anyone got any words of wisdom or reasurance that worst case is unlikely?

Well my ds has a indentation in the same place and he has been checked over many times. He is fine.

Try not to worry till you've seen the gp, if your hv is anything like mine she's probably just being over cautious.

DD got referred to hospital at a similar age for uneven leg creases and the consultant paediatrician said that referring on the basis of leg creases is outdated and we shouldn't really have been referred without other signs of problems. He did the X-ray on DD's hips as we were there, and all was fine.

Both my DDs had uneven creases and were both sent for xrays and nothing was wrong. The Health Visitor also sent them to have their eyes checked as she thought they had a squint - nothing was wrong then either. I think they like to have things checked out just to reassure themselves. A friend of mines DD did have to wear a cast on one of her legs for a short time because she had a problem which showed up on the xray. It resolved itself in a short time. Don't worry about - I know thats easier said than done - but chances are nothing is wrong.

DD had uneven leg creases, got referred to GP, who referred her to specialist, evverything was fine, nothing wrong with her

Oh thanks for your words of reassurance. i know it'll probably be nothing but it's hard not to think the worst.
Coincidentally concepta she also thinks DD has a slight squint so has arranged an eye check too.
Think she's covering all bases.

But I feel slightly better as this is also the hv who did not know what Baby Led Weaning was, and even when i explained, asked ' so she is eating some finger foods then' I'm hoping she's just covering her back with this.

let us know how things go - as you say the health visitor is just keeping herself covered. By the way my DDs both had to keep going to the Orthoptist until they went to school - there was a history of a squint in the family and they both had a shape of nose that can give the impression that there is a squint when nothing is wrong. At least when you get everything checked out it will give you reassurance and peace of mind. All the best.

Thanks all - small world concepta, HV also said the squint may be due to the shape of DD's nose - quite broad at the top. Not too worried about that though.

Good news is, saw doc yesterday and he said they were trying to get the message to HVs that the leg creases and hip problems issue is out of date. Apparently, research shows there is no correlation and HV must stop looking at leg creases. He disagreed that one leg was longer than other, said the small back indentation was nothing to worry about and said she'd stand in her own time.
Phew!
Very glad.

Thanks for all the comments

Delighted to hear that your GP was not concerned. Its no wonder X Ray Departments are always so busy - all this unneccessary work.

DS1 had uneven creases and was referred to an orthopedic surgeon as a suspect congenital dislocation of the hips (CDH). DH had this and there is a genetic link.

The OS concluded, after x-rays, that DS was not CDH, but a 'mouldy baby' - he was in general very assymetric, which the doctor put down to the way he grew in the womb (I had a very neat bump, so DS had little room to grow evenly into).

By the time he was 2, all this was unnoticeable. He is now 17 and very athletic.

Funnily enough, my fifth child was actually CDH, so it is always worth getting these things checked out.