[What possibilities does sonography of infantile hips offer?]

We report on the possibilities offered by ultrasonography for investigations of the infantile hip. For 4 years investigations of the infantile hip have been carried out in our hospital, for 2 years already as routine examinations. More than 1,000 infantile hips were examined and put to record. Basing on extensive experimental and clinical examinations the possibility to distinguish between the luxated and the non-luxated hip as well as the diagnosis of certain kinds of dysplasia are demonstrated with the aid of examples. If one observes certain criteria, even prognostical statements on the further development of the hip joint are possible. The remarkable advantages of this technique (lack of radiation exposure, repeatability at any time, visualization of non-osseous structures) are being confronted with and opposed to the presently existing disadvantages (intersecting plane pictures only instead of full radiation pictures, presently non-available classification by appropriate parameters). For all that, the ultrasonic compound treatment already offers a genuine enrichment with remarkable advantages concerning the diagnostic possibilities within this special field of orthopaedics.