Relationship of pain to the radiological anatomy of the hip joint in adults treated for congenital dislocation of the hip as infants: a long-term follow-up of patients treated by three methods.

Sixty female patients with congenital dislocation of the hip treated by three methods were followed up to a mean age of 27.3 years. Standard radiographic measurements of hip joint morphology, including stereoscopic measurements of acetabular and femoral neck anteversion, were made. The Severin score of the hip joint, but not acetabular or femoral neck anteversion, was related to symptoms. Hips treated by femoral derotation osteotomy had superior results to hips treated by traction reduction alone. Both of these methods gave much better results than treatment by closed manipulative reduction. The "normal" opposite hip was morphologically abnormal, although usually asymptomatic.