ORTHOPEDICS
A Joint Effort
NORMAL
How can research and education advance the standard of care for children and teens with hip dysplasia and encourage a narcotic-free pain management routine ?
An all-women team of pediatric orthopedic surgeons at Children ’ s Hospital Colorado is challenging the status quo with their hip dysplasia research . Gaia Georgopoulos , MD , Margaret Siobhan Murphy- Zane , MD , Nancy Hadley-Miller , MD , and Courtney Selberg , MD , are aiming to not only provide the best care , but also create a whole-patient experience that is unique to Children ’ s Colorado by incorporating education into the treatment process . This is helping babies get the care they need sooner and helping to decrease the need for pain medication post-procedure . Together , this team of surgeons conducts research and cares for kids across the entire pediatric experience from infant diagnosis into early adulthood .
SUBLUXATED
Developmental dysplasia of the hip is a relatively common condition where the hip joint develops abnormally , making the round , upper end of the femur bone sit improperly in the hip socket . The cause is unknown , but believed to be a developmental issue that occurs before or after birth . The most common treatment for infants is the Pavlik harness , a soft splint that supports the baby ’ s feet all the way up to the shoulders , helping keep the baby ’ s hips in a proper position . Babies typically wear the harness for 12 weeks and require intense caretaker oversight as the baby ’ s movement is very limited .
Children ’ s Colorado ’ s orthopedic surgery team is constantly evaluating the effectiveness of their protocols to ask themselves : Do infants actually require a full 12 weeks of treatment or are we overtreating patients ? How can we make our care optimal for the patients and easier for the parents ?
Drs . Georgopoulos , Murphy-Zane and Hadley-Miller have published several recent studies advancing the standard of care for the Pavlik harness and expanding the knowledge on ongoing management ( 1 ). The group is making these evaluations by studying the baby ’ s age , risk factors , bracing ability and more . These types of studies are possible thanks to the hip registry this team is building at Children ’ s Colorado , where researchers can dive into the data for a clear understanding of what the research shows is effective .
8 | CHILDREN ’ S HOSPITAL COLORADO