Dysplastic hips and CDHThe word 'congenital' refers to abnormalities occurring during foetal growth and therefore imply failure of the body to develop properly. The most common example in relation to the hip is congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH), when a baby is born with a dislocated hip joint. A less severe form of the same process is referred to as developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The hip joint fails to develop fully so that the acetabulum is shallow and the femoral head is not fully contained in the hip. Often in patients with dysplasia the hip can be completely without any symptoms (asymptomatic) until the onset of symptoms in early adulthood (20s and 30s). The acetabular roof is more vertical and the femoral head lies in a more lateral position (reduced centre edge angle). High stresses on the lateral acetabular margin cause wear of the articular cartilage.
Patients with dysplasia who have not yet developed osteoarthritis but do have symptoms from their hip are sometimes offered surgery to correct the alignment of the acetabulum. link to case example of total hip replacement for dysplasia
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