Treatment duration of developmental dysplasia of the hip: age and sonography.

We retrospectively assessed babies treated according to Pavlik's method and followed up in our outpatient clinic between the years 2001 and 2005, investigating the influence of age at onset of treatment and severity of sonographic pathologies on the rates of avascular necrosis and treatment duration of 343 pathological hips in 311 neonates. No osteonecrosis was observed at the 1-year follow-up. Early detection of developmental dysplasia of the hip and early initiation of treatment using Pavlik's method are important in preventing osteonecrosis, and have high success rates. When using Pavlik's method for treating developmental dysplasia of the hip, starting treatment at 13 weeks and later increases the duration of treatment.