My 18mo old, sweet little girl has recently been diagnosed with hip dysplasia and I am in a lot of distress trying to figure out how and what the procedures & recovery is with it, The orthopaedic says it is recent which means her hip didn't grow correctly into the socket. Her socket is very shallow and allows her hip to slip in and out. I am getting a lot of responses about using a chiropractor and I plan on checking into it, but her hip isn't just dislocated there are other issues present!
If any of you moms out there have experienced this or know someone who has, I would appreciate any input. I am scared to death about how this is going to affect my little one as she grows and surgery seems to be the only option at her age. I plan on getting a second opinion before this goes any further!
I am so grateful that this is all we have to battle, for all you moms who are going through much worse.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T DO SURGERY!!!! I work for a chiropractor. At least try other things before subjecting her to the trauma of surgery when it is probably NOT even needed! At least get a consultation or a second opinion. Please! I live and work in Canton, Georgia. If you are in that area let me know. Good luck!
Johna
Hi A..
This must be very scary for you. I would highly reccomend that you take your daughter to see Dr. Eric Richards @ Health Sprout Chiropractic in Woodstock. He is very knowledgeable and I am confident that he would be able to help your daughter. His consultations are free. He can be ____@____.com free to use my name.
Good Luck!
B.
Hip dysplasia is common in ur 1st child and girls more so than boys. My neice had it and had surgury. They clipped a tendon and reattached it. She was in a body cast for a month or two. It slowed down her physical developement. She didn't walk until she was two. But if ur child is already walking before surgery she is more likely to have a speeder recovery. I did a report on hip dysplasia for massage school and it is believed to be benifical in the healing process as well. There are web sites parents of children w/ this problem have created to share stories and form support for one another. I highly recommend you checking them out.
A., you can't watch your daughter like a hawk if you are working full time. Are you sure your daughter has not been roughly handled by her caretaker? If it hasn't crossed your mind then it needs to. Just a thought, not accusing you of anything or them so don't be offended please. I would expect the doctor to be knowledgable enough to know if it was recent or not.
I took care of a 12 month old foster child in the 80's that had hip dysplasia in both hips from birth and she had a body cast from armpits to ankles with a bar between with the diaper area cut out. I have no idea what you are looking at in regards to a cast these days for hip dysplasia of one hip but I would expect your daughter to be unhappy about it in the beginning because she will be curtailed in her moving around I would imagine. Someone else could maybe tell you better about what to expect. She will need a responsible caretaker to see to it that she is taken care of properly during this time. You can get through this A., so don't panic, there are definitely worse things as you said. You learn as you go like I did. My foster baby had been laid in the fields as her mother worked and when the doctors checked her cast and found maggots, they removed her from the home and I got her to care for. We made it through everything, even the no sleep for months from having to get up every two hours in the night to clean her diaper area because of the sores from the maggots. It was not easy, just a job that needed to be done for this little on, but so worth the time with her and watching this sweet baby begin to come out of her quiet shell and smile at me as she moved one little ankle round and round.
Good luck A., I wish you the best.
Chiropractic can possibly help your little one! I would certainly look into it before surgery! Let me know if you need more info:) Best of luck!
I also worked for a chiropractor for 15 years before my little one came along. My daughter was born with a dislocated hip. I got her adjusted right away and followed a chiropractic care program and now her hip is perfect. Depending on the level of severity there are many options out there before going to the extreme of surgery. Good luck to you both!
Hi there A.,
I am 34 and the mother of a 23 month old daughter (and a son this Friday!). I was actually born with hip displasia! My daughter was checked for it and cleared, as she was breach. I was diagnosed at around 9 months. I was put in a full body cast, it didn't work and it was very archaic. My mother looked elswhere for advice and found an orthopedic that used a pillow splint to splay my hips out so the one hip would eventually go back in the socket. She paired this with Chiropractic care and I am no worse for the wear! I do continue to see a Chiropractor but it is really for maintenance. This was all 30 years ago but it worked. It always sounds like doctors are ready to cut first and talk about the ramifications of surgery later. I would certainly look into Chiropractic care and maybe even some nueromuscular therapy depending on whether the muscles around the hips are too short at the moment. I am sure she will recover perfectly, our little girls are so resilient!
Best ped ortho in town is Donald McCartney ###-###-####
My son didn't have hip dysplasia but he was in a body cast when he was two for a fractured femur. If it happens that she has to have the cast (called a spica cast) I do have some advice on that... we spent each evening using a blow dryer on cool to dry his bottom and the cast in the diaper area and retaped almost everynight the cutout around the diaper area to keep it as dry as possible. What worked best was 2 small diapers shoved up the opening, one in front and one in back. After about 2 weeks he started getting around really well, between commando crawling and cruising on furniture, that was amazing. He did have to sleep with me though so I could turn him every 2 hours and keep his diapers changed and dry. (that was actually the biggest battle). I wish you luck. Even though I am not a big proponent of chiropractic care, i would check that out first before surgery.
Hopefully this will make you feel better. I was born with two dislocated hips in 1962. I had surgery, was in a body cast, and did not learn to walk until I was three. I have had no problems at all in all of my 46 years and I do not remember any of it. I am sure it upset my parents as I was their first child - they tell me I cried a lot because of the body cast. However, they did have three more children after me - none of them had the hip problems. I say all of this because as bad as the procedures must have been in 1962 - I have had no problems since and do not remember any of it at all. I KNOW the treatments are much better now - I saw a little girl in the park several years ago and she had the same thing. She was wearing a removal brace that looked infintiley better than a body cast. She was doing great.
