Perthes' disease.

This is one of a series of occasional articles highlighting conditions that may be more common than many doctors realise or may be missed at first presentation. The series advisers are Anthony Harnden, professor of primary care, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, and Richard Lehman, general practitioner, Banbury. To suggest a topic, please email us at [email protected] A mother took her 8 year old son, who had been limping and complaining of occasional leg pain, to see their gen‐ eral practitioner. The boy was otherwise healthy. He walked with a limp, was afebrile, and had painful, reduced internal rotation and abduction of his right hip. Plain radiographs confirmed the diagnosis of Perthes’ disease, prompting paediatric orthopaedic referral, followed by an osteotomy.