Lucknow: If your child complains about pain in the hip or groin or in other parts of the leg such as the thigh or knee, known as referred pain, that worsens with activity and is relieved with rest and if it persists for a week, it could be Perthes disease.
Perthes disease occurs when the bone of the head of the femur (the ball of the ball-and-socket joint of the hip) gradually begins to collapse, which might require surgery if treatment is delayed, said experts at a conference on paediatric bone health, POSUPCON-2023, organised by the department of orthopaedics at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Science (RMLIMS).
Dr Abhishek Saha from the Institute of Child Health, Kolkata Medical, stated that they see 15-20 such patients every month. “Often, kids aged between three and 11, get injured while playing and parents ignore symptoms.
Eventually, when the blood supply to the rounded head of the femur (thighbone) is temporarily disrupted, and the bone cells die, they come to us. At this stage, surgery is the only option. Surgery also has a poor outcome in those above eight years,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Prabhat of the paediatric orthopaedics department of RMLIMS mentioned another congenital condition of the hip in children called developmental dysplasia that affects one in 1,000 children in which the child’s hip slips below normal.