Effect of acetabular morphological parameters applied in proximal femoral varus osteotomy on the treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip in children

BACKGROUND: The study was carried out based on the background that though proximal femoral varus osteotomy is one of the most effective methods in treating developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), its surgical efficiency and effect need to be improved. METHODS: The neck shaft angle and acetabular morphological parameters were measured before and after operation and during clinical follow-up. The Severin criteria and McKay criteria were both adopted to score the measurements. The distance from the center of the femoral head to the medial cutting bone (expressed as C value) and the shortened lengths of the proximal femur (expressed as Δ S) calculated by formula and obtained by actual measurement were compared. RESULTS: The neck shaft angle and acetabular morphological parameters after operation and during clinical follow-up were significantly lower than those before operation (P<0.05). The proportion of children with McKay scores of I, II, III, and IV after operation was 50.00%, 41.67%, 8.33%, and 0.00%, respectively; while the proportion of children with Severin scores of I, II, III, and IV was 55.00%, 38.33%, 6.67%, and 0.00%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the C value and Δ S obtained after formula calculation and actual measurement (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The acetabular morphological parameters applied in proximal femoral varus osteotomy are of great value for the treatment of DDH in children.