Slipped capital femoral epiphysis: is prophylactic pinning more effective at reducing complications than follow-up?

### Clinical bottom line An 11-year-old girl presents to the limping child clinic with a 4-week history of left groin pain. Examination is painful and reveals restricted internal rotation and flexion of the left hip. A radiographic series of anteroposterior and frog-lateral views shows a unilateral slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). On referral to the orthopaedic team to organise surgical fixation, the orthopaedic registrar on call comments that the patient’s treatment is likely to vary considerably depending on the surgeon operating, each having a personal preference for or against prophylactic pinning of the contralateral hip. You wonder how prophylactic fixation might affect patient outcomes. Question: For children diagnosed with unilateral SCFE ( patient ), is prophylactic fixation of the contralateral hip ( intervention ) more effective at …