Congenital dislocation of the hip--prognostic implications of early diagnosis.

A retrospective analysis of 62 patients with 78 congenital dislocations of the hip (CDH) referred to Children's Hospital at Stanford was done to ascertain whether CDH was being diagnosed as early as had been thought possible and whether various treatments were effective. In this series there were a substantial number of cases of CDH that were not diagnosed within the first 48 hours of life. At Children's Hospital the Pavlik harness was the most effective form of treatment of congenital dislocations of the hip in the perinatal period.