Problems in congenital dislocation of the hip.

When congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH) is first recognised late in children over 1 year old the results of treatment are far from perfect. Even of those treated with apparent success half can be expected to have a painful hip by the age of 30.1 The introduction of routine screening of the newborn by von Rosen,2 Barlow,3 and Coleman4 raised the hope that treatment begun at birth would produce much better or even perfect results. This hope has indeed been fulfilled in that many children now born with a dislocated hip respond to a short period of splinting in infancy by developing a joint which in later childhood is clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from normal. Yet there remain difficulties, doubts, and disappoint ments, some of which I will examine briefly.