Outcome of cheilectomy in Legg-Calve-Perthes disease: minimum 25-year follow-up of five patients.

The authors report minimum 25-year follow-up results of cheilectomy performed in five hips affected by Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (LCPD) with hinged abduction. All five hips had a poor prognosis in terms of age at disease onset, treatment delay, hinged abduction, subluxation, and extensive head involvement. Cheilectomy, partial capital resection, was made along the indentation groove on the articular surface of the femoral head. Only the extruded portion of the femoral head was excised. Patients were placed in balanced suspension traction before and after surgery. Cheilectomy results were satisfactory during the early postoperative period (2-3 years) in terms of pain, range of motion, and limping. However, long-term results with a minimum follow-up of 25 years were unsatisfactory and showed poor hips in three, fair in one, and good in one. In addition, all five hips showed early evidence of osteoarthritic change (when patients were in their 30s). These results show that cheilectomy is not effective at preventing the early appearance of osteoarthritic change in LCPD hips with a deformed head and hinged abduction.