The role of the labrum in early treatment of unstable developmental dysplasia of the hip

The objective of the paper is to analyse the role of the labrum with particular attention to its morphological changes in unstable dysplastic hips during treatment. Between January 2013 and December 2015, data were collected on 86 unstable, dysplastic hips, which were divided into type D (n = 13), type III (n = 49) and type IV (n = 24). The labrum was evaluated with ultrasound examination (US) for echogenicity and dimensions with inter-/intra-observer tests comparing the US images at diagnosis and at the end of treatment. Statistical analysis was performed. At the end of treatment of unstable, dysplastic hips, the labrum was more echogenic with a frequency of 97% and was larger with a frequency of 96%. The labrum has an active stabilizing role in unstable dysplastic hips and it undergoes a statistically significant increase of echogenicity and dimensions after treatment. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2019;4 DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.4.180053