Use of computed tomography in congenital dislocation of the hip

The diagnosis of congenital dislocation of the hip is easily made on plain film; however, after the patient is placed in a spica cast with abduction, plain films and even tomograms often fail to show the position of the capital femoral epiphysis. The usefulness of computed tomography in the clinical setting is described by a sample case. The decreased radiation and increased accuracy of diagnosis should make computed tomographic scanning of the hips the procedure of choice over plain film or tomogram when evaluating congenital dislocation of the hip.