Spica Casts

How Common is DDH?

This is the question that I asked when I first found out about Natalie. I had no idea that this even existed in infants. That was until I thought back over the previous years and realized that my sister-in-law had said something about the doctor was going to check her son for a problem with his hips. She simply stated that they were going to try to force his hip out of place. The point was to see if it would come out of place easily. Her son’s doctor really didn’t explain to them what exactly they were looking for. I believe they were looking for DDH because they were concerned with how loose his hip was in the socket. This procedure was suppose be very uncomfortable possibly even painful for my nephew. This is a common practice that a lot of doctors do to determine if it is possible for DDH to be present.

Natalie’s doctor did the normal hip rotation test and never seemed to notice any thing until I brought up the fact that her leg was shorter than the other. I watched her do the same hip rotation that she did in the very beginning and she still did not mention DDH. I believe that is why it was such a shock when the orthopedist diagnosed her with DDH in the first five minutes of the visit. We were given pamphlets on DDH, but nothing that was in depth to really tell you about the condition. It really only stated that she had DDH and the surgery is commonly used to correct the condition. It showed an x-ray of a dislocated hip and a baby in a Spica Cast following the surgery. It did not say what could have caused it, how often does it happen, or risk factors involved. We went into the surgery with very little information available to us. The internet at the time did not really answer very many of our question because we really did not know what to look for.

One year after the surgery we have gotten more information. DDH is more common than most people realize. The numbers are somewhere around 1:1000 infants a year will be diagnosed with DDH. Depending on the age of the child will decide if surgery or a brace is required. Early detection is the key to save your child from the possibility of surgery.

Here are some of the most common causes of DDH:
• Female child
• First pregnancy
• Breech baby (feet at shoulders)
• Caucasian
• Previous child with DDH (possible that it can run in the family)

Children born after previous child diagnosed should automatically be screened with in the first three months of birth.

A few states require that a breech female baby be scanned for DDH before they leave the hospital or with in the first month of life. This condition can alter the life of your child if it is not diagnosed early. In many cases children developed osteoarthritis due a late diagnoses of DDH. I suggest if you have any concerns, you should schedule an appointment with your pediatrician as soon as possible. Do not delay if you suspect that some thing might be wrong.

What is DDH?

DDH is an acronym for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip. There are several ranges of severity of it. For example, in milder cases the thighbone (known as a femur) is allowed to move slightly within the socket due to ligaments and soft tissue not forming a firm hold onto it. The more extreme case, such as an example with our daughter, will allow the femur to move out of the socket all together. Children who are born with DDH may not even have a hip socket and the femur bone may try to form one for it self higher up on the hip bone. This requires surgery to correct to get the femur back in its proper position. A spica cast is normally used to hold it in the proper position.

Symptoms for a baby are:

If you feel that your child has any of these symptoms, you should contact your pediatrician as soon as possible. The earlier this is caught, the easier it is to correct.

Toys for a Child in a Spica Cast

Keeping your child entertained and happy while in a spica cast can sometimes be difficult. The fact that most babies are very mobile and all over the place at the age that our daughter had her spica cast on, it was just unnatural for her to be semi-immobile. However, there are several things that we have seen other parents do online and some of the toys we have used to keep Natalie busy.

We have seen some parents with children who have created or found special desks. They are typically wider, and look similar to coffee tables where they can sit in a bean bag or umbrella chair to play with their toys.

Another popular type of toy for a child in a spica cast would be those that the child can ride on. Most are designed in ways that are not obstructing from sitting on it while in a cast.

We also have seen a mother who had a nice blown-up ball pit. Their daughter was able to sit in it in her bean bag chair and play. They said that it worked really well for their child.

Keep in mind that most children who are old enough to crawl will quickly learn that they can pull themselves along to different places in the house when they want to. Putting things down low that they enjoy playing with will help them feel more independent. Just keep in mind not to allow them to play with toys that can fit down into the spica cast. You should always keep a lookout for items that could potentially fall down into their cast. Also remember to keep clothing on them to help prevent that.