The Treatment of Congenital Dislocation of the Knee with the Pavlik Harness

We have used the Pavlik harness in the treatment of congenital dislocation of the knee in six knees in five patients, with satisfactory results. We believe that the muscles in the thigh which cross both the hip and knee joints, the rectus femoris and hamstrings, play an important role in the spontaneous reduction of the joint. Full correction is not always obtained, our results are comparable with those described by other authors. We consider that the advantages of using the harness are that a spontaneous correction can be obtained, maximal correction can be obtained after three months of treatment and the method is safer than others used.