Perthes' disease
Last reviewed 01/2018
Perthes' disease is a form of idiopathic osteonecrosis (or osteochondrosis) of the femoral head in childhood (1).
- characteristically there is avascular necrosis of the epiphysis resulting in impaired enchondral ossification of the femoral head (2)
- it occurs principally in boys aged between 5 and 12 (3)
Presentation is with pain and limping, usually affecting just one hip, but occasionally both, developing over a month (1).
Reference:
- (1) Dillman JR, Hernandez RJ. MRI of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2009;193(5):1394-407.
- (2) Nelitz M, Lippacher S, Krauspe R, Reichel H. Perthes Disease Current Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2009 July; 106(31-32): 517–523.
- (3) Taghi Karimi, McGarry T. A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Surgical and Nonsurgical Treatment of Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease: A Review of the Literature. Adv Orthop. 2012; 2012: 490806.