Comparison between braced and non-braced Legg-Calvé-Perthes-disease patients: a radiological outcome study

Twenty-three hips of 23 Legg-Calvé-Perthes-disease (LCPD) patients treated with abduction orthosis and 28 hips of 25 non-braced LCPD patients were evaluated radiologically retrospectively. The mean age of the brace group was 6.82 years and the mean follow-up was 12.30 years. The mean age and mean follow-up were 7.03 and 17.85 years for non-braced patients, respectively. The hips were evaluated according to lateral pillar classification. There were eight Herring A, 15 Herring B and five Herring C hips in the non-braced patients group; and there were five Herring A, 11 Herring-B and seven Herring C hips in the brace group. The groups were similar in terms of mean age, mean follow-up, sex distribution and lateral pillar grade. Patients' end results were evaluated according to Stulberg classification. All Herring A patients healed with Stulberg class 1 or 2, either braced or non-braced. Fifty-three percent of non-braced hips and 65% of the hips treated with brace healed with satisfactory radiological outcome. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of end result. The overall results of this study suggest that Herring's lateral pillar classification is a useful system for the prediction of the long-term outcome of the disease and that there was no significant difference between the braced and non-braced patients in terms of radiological end result.