CENTRO INTERNACIONAL PERTHES
WHAT IS PERTHES DISEASE?
Perthes disease or Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is a necrosis or infarction of the femoral head that affects to growing hip in children. It is a temporary interruption of the blood supply to the femoral head, which causes cell death and collapse of the head bone, which loses its spherical shape.
This affectation recovers spontaneously after a few years. The problem appears when there is loss of sphericity of the femoral head. In cases where there is a flat head after the collapse, young adult osteoarthritis occurs. Therefore the treatment will always be aimed at preserving the sphericity of the femoral head.
The consequences of femoral head infarction are two-fold:
- BONE NECROSIS with collapse of the bony structure of the spherical femoral head.
- GROWTH PLATE NECROSIS with consequences throughout childhood.
The importance of early treatment is key to preventing hip deformities before they occur.
Perthes Disease
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DISEASE
More frequent in boys than in girls in which it occurs in only 19%. Of all the cases have a history in the family 19%. In 19% of the cases it affects both hips.
ONSET: onset between 3 and 8 years of age with:
- Isolated limping
- Hip, thigh or knee pain
- Stiffness with loss of movement
When to consult a pediatric orthopedic surgeon?
- Before any type of lameness
- When thigh, hip or knee pain appears