What is Perthes (Legg-Calve-Perthes)?
This condition is named after three doctors who described it, in around 1910 – Dr Legg, an American, Dr Calve, a Frenchman, and Dr Perthes, a German. It is found in children only, generally between the ages of 3-15 years. It occurs when the blood supply to the femoral head (ball in the hip joint) is disrupted – the cause of this is unknown. As the bone dies, it fragments and is re-absorbed by the body, sometimes a fracture line is seen on xrays which will indicate how extensive the involvement will be. The growth plate can also be involved, which can lead to LLD (leg length discrepancy). If this is the case, then a very simple procedure can be done when the child is older, where the growth plate in the knee end of the femur, on the good leg is ‘stapled’ to halt its growth and allow the discrepancy to be resolved more naturally Eventually the blood supply is restored to the femoral head and it re-grows. It tends to grow back more oval/ovoid in shape, but as long as it is contained in th
