Pedatric Orthopedic (Right Hip in a 4 1/2 Mo Old)

Whatever you do I would also suggest getting a second opinion at the Shriners' Hospital. They are in Oak Park and specialize in children's ortho problems. I was able to bring my daughter there and they were wonderful. Please contact me if you need an application. I just happened to find one while cleaning this weekend. They are free for children til their 21st birthday I think, but there is a waiting list after you send in the paperwork. Good luck.

Hi D., I know how difficult it is to deal with such issues. My daughter was born with clubfeet and it was extremely difficult at first but, her orthopedic was wonderful. Today, you wouldn't even know that she had this issue. Her orthopedic was Dr. Andrea Kramer, at the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute. She has an office close to Lake Forest Hospital and other locations also. The phone number for her office is ###-###-####. Best of luck to you and your little Rayanna.
:) A.

D.
I know how you are feeling and you have probably read all the worst case scenarios on the web like I did. My daughter was born frank breech and the nurse noticed a click in one hip at birth. She was seen by Dr. Andrea Kramer in the hospital and was in a harness for both hips at 1 week old. She wore the harness for two months straight and at night for the third month. She is now 1 1/2 and running. Everyone said the younger kids are, the easier it is to fix, so I would agree with others to try to see a doctor sooner rather than wait until April. Dr. Kramer at the IL Bone and Joint Institute is highly recommended and really good with kids. Rayanna will be fine.

D.

I too have a daughter that was diagnosed with a "hip click". It definitely isn't as bad as it sounds. I cried and cried when I was told. The pediatrician wasn't mine and that made it all that worse. However, Andrea's was discovered at birth and we got an appointment quickly. The orthopedic we went to only had us dress her in double diapers to help spread her legs and after 2-3 months she was fine. The worst case scenario would be the leg braces between her feet for a few months. Andrea is fine and hasn't suffered any replases....she just turned 21 about a week and a half ago. Trust me...it isn't as serious as it sounds but when we are young and the doc doesn't completely discuss it in detail it sends us into a tailspin. Good luck......and don't even give it another thought til you are able to see the ortho doc. Everything will be fine!!! J.

Have you thought about seeing a chiropractor? One of my sons had some major leg/hip pain and we saw the ped for it many times. After many appts, xrays, and seeing other doc's, there was no answers and we were super disappointed and worried. I just happened to mention it to my chiro and he said he would take a look. Thank goodness he did because he instantly diagnosed him and helped him! No problems since and the ped is amazed with the improvement!

Hi D.,
Don't freak out. Your daughter will be fine. I would suggest calling around to other offices to see if you can get in sooner than April if you can with your insurance. I am a physical therapist and worked at a pediatric orthopedic office for a year before I finished that degree. We saw hip dysplasia all the time. Most of the time we put the child in a Pawlik (sounds like pav-lik) harness. It is a soft brace that the baby wears and looks like a belt with suspenders and straps that go along the outsides of both legs. They are velcro and you just add length as the baby grows. I can't remember how long they wore them, but there were regular check ups for x-rays to see how the hip was re-shaping. I don't know where you live, but can suggest a few more orthopedics to your list.
Loren M. Brown, MD in Munster, IN (I worked for this one, he can have a brusk bedside manner)
Mark Moran, MD Parkview Orthopedics with offices in Silver Cross and Palos I think.
There are a number at M&M Orthopedics, and they have offices all over. I know the 2 in the Lemont office (Ibrahim and Lindell) and they are nice.

Good luck, and don't panic. Every case I saw at the office I worked at came out fine. If you want to have some peace of mind that you are helping your baby for now, try putting on two diapers to keep her knees apart and do not bring her legs together with holding her and diapering. Keep them apart kind of like a frog.
Here is a link to the harness I mentioned and there is some info there too.
http://orthopedics.about.com/od/pediatrichipinjuries/g/pa...

Blessings,

N.

Dear D. G.,

If you are able to go online, look up all that you can and read everything that pertains to the problem your baby girl is having. What city/town are you located in? If you are in Chicago or at least nearby, there is the Shriner's Hospital that works with children with orthopedic problems of all kinds. They are located on Oak Park Avenue in Chicago. They can talk to you about your daughter specifically. Also, they work with any and all children. They only work with children with orthopedic problems. In addition, there is Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, ###-###-####. Children's specializes in all problems/illnesses/diseases, that children might have or get. I don't have Shriner's telephone number off hand, but you can get that on the internet as well. You can even go to the websites of Shriner's Hospital and Children's Memorial Hospital to get a better understanding of what each hospital does.

I do not believe that it's too late for your baby to be treated no matter what the problem is. There are some remarkable things being done in medicine today and the treatments can even be classified as miracles. I say this because my son is currently a patient at Children's Memorial. When I became aware that my son was sick, I inquired at both Shriner's and Children's. We ended up at Children's because my son's problem was not strictly orthopedic.

Get a notebook and write everything down, including the date, time and name of the person you spoke to. Always ask to repeat something you don't understand and for the correct spelling of words you are not familiar with. You will learn a lot and you will become more informed about any decisions you have to make regarding your daughter.

Good luck and take care. I'll definitely include you and your daughter in my prayers.

S.

Go to Fox Valley Orthopaedic in Geneva IL. See Dr. Laura Lemke ###-###-####. They also have offices in Elgin. She is great and I would highly recommend her.

You must have read the same article on the internet as I just did, and it does sound as if your child should be in a harness sooner than April. So here are some options: are you confined to this doctor by insurance? if not, seek an apt with another ped orthopedist. If you can only go thru him, call up and state your case and your concern and keep the conversation going beyond the rote responses that nurses and receptionists give. Tell of your anxiety, be dramatic but listen to what is said, don't let your anxiety shut off your ears. Ask for a clear explanation with enough information to alleviate your anxiety , or , best scenario, get an earlier appointment. Your elected officials and newspapers are also resources to get people to pay attention to you. When I worked if someone got their representative to write a letter about their claim it was handled first priority.
Now for your anxiety. There is no logical reason that the worst case scenario will always happen to you. Your unreasonable thinking habits are adding to, if not creating entirely, your anxious feelings. Train your brain. When you begin to think the worst, summon your reason and let it take control. It will tell you that you don't know the future, that you have not been singled out for an unrelenting life of woe, that you can just as well have good luck as bad luck. Look at all the possibilities, your daugters case could be a mild one and easily corrected, or a moderate one and thus corrected with some effort. Use your energy to think like this instead of giving in to the old habits. If you are a believer, get some reassuring Bible verses and read them at the first sign of anxiety. If you can't afford to go to a behavior modification therapist, go to the book store and ask for a book on behavior modification therapy written for the lay person and read it. Sit down with paper and pencil and write down all the possibilities with each situation that caused anxiety so you can begin to see things in a more balanced light. Another list you should write is of the times you expected the worst and it did not happen, tally the score, it could be something like 34 times the worst did not happen, one time it did. Facts are your best friend, get them and believe them and develop a skeptical attitude about your feelings and your own thoughts until you get a handle on it.

Did you call Children's Memorial? You can make an appt with an ortho surgeon by calling 1-800-kids-doc. I would try to get in before April, that's a long time for you to wait.

My daughter had congenital hip dysplasia (CHD) in both hips (moreso in one than the other) and was diagnosed about a week after birth. She's 6 1/2 years old now and doing great. We only go to the ortho now about every 18 months for check-ups.

I would push for an exam sooner than April, if at all possible. If you need an ortho recommendation, we highly recommend M&M Ortho in Naperville (Dr. Matthew Bueche). He and his staff are wonderful!

One website that can give you a ton of info and support is http://hip-baby.org. There is a ton of info on the site.

Good luck!

I highly recommend Dr. Bielski- he is based out of the Univeristy of Chicago but has offices in the suburbs like Elmhurst (1-2 days per week and Matteson). My son went to see him and he was great-really made us feel comfortable and at ease with was going on with our son- I was very nervous about finding a good Dr. for this and my dr recommended him as well as my BIL who is a dr. and did some research for me. I don't know what your insurance situation is but we have HMO and he wasn't in our group but because he was a specialist and there are so few out there for pediatrics it was covered.

I have taken my kids to OAD Orthopedics. They have offices in Warrenville, Winfield, Carol Stream and Wheaton. I'm not sure if they handle infants, but it's worth a call. They also have a website you can check out.

http://www.oadortho.com/

I went to M&M once, the office in Downers Grove. I didn't like it because it seemed like a factory. We saw the dr. for about 5 minutes and the rest of the time we saw the physician's assistant and several nurses. My son had 2 broken elbows. I found the drs at OAD to be much more involved.

My brother had the same condition when he was about three or four??? This was back in the late 70's early 80's. He wore a brace on his legs 23 hours a day for a year. He's fine with a slight limp...and I mean slight. It is barely noticeable. He's 36 now.

It will be fine.

I do not know what they do these days, but I was born with a dislocated hip. I am fine now. I was in a body cast for about 6 months until everything gew together. I am sure your child will be fine. Do not worry you are a great parent.

I recommend starting with WebMd just to get an initial answer to your concerns. Also, I recommend Todd Simmons. (near Golf Mill. 8901 Golf Rd, Suite 300, Des Plaines, ###-###-####.) He's an orthopaedic m.d. that we've used; receommended by our pediatrician; he treated our daughter for a fractured patella. If he doesn't treat such little ones, I'm sure you could ask whom they recommend. Also, call Children's downtown and get a specialist there.

Also, don't worry about fearing 'the worst.' Hip dysplagia isn't terminal!

Hope this helps. Hope you get an appointment with Dr. Simmons. He's great. And it's a big practice, so someone should be available.

When I was about that age my hip slipped and they wanted to put me in a cast. My mom passed on the cast but did the braces instead. I have no lasting problems and I'm fine today. Good luck to you and your princess.

My son was diagnosed with hip dysplasia when he was born and they found it right away because he was breech. He was put in a harness for months which was more difficult on me than it was on him...he is now 6 years old and hasn't had a problem since. I highly highly recommend the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute. They have several locations but my son saw Dr. Marjetko and he is absolutely amazing. He gives it to you straight with no fluff and he takes the time to answer all of your questions...he is very highly recognized in his field. We saw 2 dr. before him that I just was not happy with and I felt blessed when we found him.

In the long run there is nothing to worry about if you correct the problem now. The harness is a piece of cake but it required me to buy new clothes because of the way that it fit. 2 piece outfits worked the best.

Good Luck! If you have anymore questions just write to me.

Hi D.
Pediatrician did not tell you put two nappies instead of one, to cause more abduction of hips and the hips will settle in the socket.
I am sure he told you.
There is no other treatment until next assessment.
S. Portoian,MD

Hi D.,

Take a deep breath. It sounds worse that it is. I was born with right hip displasia over 40 years ago. Mine was a very severe case. I was in a body cast for a year, has surgery at 9 and wore special shoes til I was 12. Treatment has come a long way since then. I was the worst case scenario and really it was not bad. I do not think the surgery is performed any more because the orthopaedics do such a good job with the early treatment. The condition was found early in your daughter and that is very good. She will be fine. Good luck!