Assessment of the use of hip ultrasonography by Graf's method between 1 and 6 years of age.

Ultrasonographic examinations of both hips of 133 children whose age ranged from 13 to 72 months were performed using the Graf's method. A standard plane which was mandatory prior to the hip typing could be obtained in 93, 91, 84, 79 and 66% of the sonograms for 13-24, 25-36, 37-48, 49-60 and 61-72 months age groups, respectively. The 61-72 months age group had the lowest percentage of valid sonograms and this difference was considered significant (P=0.001). It was concluded that plain radiography was still the gold standard imaging technique in developmental dysplasia of the hip, but hip ultrasonography by the Graf's method might be an alternative imaging technique in experienced hands for the evaluation of developmental dysplasia of the hip in children between 1 and 5 years of age.