[Treatment of borderline D/IIIa hip in newborn infants with the Graf-Mittelmeier abduction harness under close ultrasound control].

UNLABELLED: By retrospective analysis we investigated the treatment of "congenital" dysplasia of the hip (D/IIIa-type according to Graf) in newborn infants with the Graf-Mittelmeier-Aktivspreizhose (abduction harness).

METHOD: Between 1990 and 1997 twenty of twenty-three newborn infants with the IIIa-type were treated with the abduction harness by short-term ultrasound monitoring. We started the therapy in the first days of life, if we could identify a IIIa-type with an alpha-angle close to type D and with only minor tendency to decentration.

RESULTS

Eighteen infants (90%) treated by abduction harness developed "mature" hips. At the beginning the mean-value of the alpha-angle was 41 degrees. In the first weeks a rapid hip maturation was observed. The alpha-angles of the 25 and 75 percentiles crossed the 60 degrees at the control of twelve weeks. A modification of the treatment by cast application was necessary in one case only.

CONCLUSIONS

The results show, that dysplastic hip joints of newborn infants show a rapid maturation under therapy. Initial treatment with an abduction harness can improve decentered D/IIIa-hips.