Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is characterized by loss of circulation to the femoral head, resulting in avascular necrosis in a growing child. Clinical pictures of the disease vary, depending on the phase of disease progression through ischemia, revascularization, fracture and collapse, and repair and remodeling of the bone.
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In pathophysiological terms, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is osteochondrosis of the femoral head, and a systemic etiology has been both suggested [ 11, 43] and contested [ 4, 26 ].
Although the common occurrence of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease and osteochondroses in locations other than the hip is rare, the association of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease with subsequent osteochondroses indicates that a common pathophysiologic pathway may underlie the multilocular manifestation of osteochondroses.
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Patients with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease had an increased adjusted risk of an association with obesity (RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.9-4.0; p < 0.001) or hypothyroidism (RR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.7-3.8; p < 0.001) when compared with control subjects.
What are the symptoms of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease? Children with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease often develop a noticeable limp. They may also experience stiffness of the hip or complain of mild pain in the groin area, thigh or knee. This pain is usually worse with activity and improves with rest.
Perthes' disease is an uncommon condition that affects children between the ages of three and 11 years. Blood supply to the head of the thigh bone is disrupted which causes the bone to deteriorate. This can cause pain, limping and limited movement of the hip joint.
What causes Legg-Calve-Perthes disease? Perthes disease is idiopathic, which means that there is no known cause for this condition. What is clear is that when blood supply to the femoral head is disrupted, the bone starts to break down. About one out of every 12,000 children develop Perthes disease.
The Perthes stages include: onset stage; fragmentation stage; reconstitution stage; residual stage. Each stage of Perthes disease has key indicators, which signifies the progression of the disease through the various stages.
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is a childhood femoral head ischemia of unknown etiology that may lead to permanent hip deformity.
Imaging testsX-rays. Initial X-rays might look normal because it can take one to two months after symptoms begin for the changes associated with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease to become evident on X-rays. ... MRI .