Anterior hip dislocation in children with cerebral palsy

This is a report of 27 hips with anterior dislocation in 17 children with cerebral palsy. Type 1 consists of patients with extension-external rotation and adduction contracture of the hip and extension contracture of the knee; type 2 consists of patients with extension-external rotation and abduction contracture of the hip and flexion contracture of the knee; and type 3 consists of patients without contractures. All children with types 1 and 2 were unable to sit and were forced into an almost full-time lying position. No child with type 3 pattern had sitting troubles. Hip pain was present in 50% of patients. All children with type 1 pattern and half of children with types 2 and 3 developed a thoracolumbar kyphosis. Standard radiographic hip measurements were inconsistent, and only three-dimensional computed tomography scans were useful in fully assessing the deformity. Indications for hip surgery were inability to sit or hip pain or both. Reconstruction was performed by anterior superior acetabular reconstruction and varus-shortening femoral osteotomy or proximal femur resection as a salvage procedure. Although three of the 13 children required two procedures, 11 of 13 children who underwent 16 hip procedures had stable and painless hips at the time of follow-up.