A syndrome of brachydactyly (absence of some middle or distal phalanges), aplastic or hypoplastic nails, symphalangism (ankylois of proximal interphalangeal joints), synostosis of some carpal and tarsal bones, craniosynostosis, and dysplastic hip joints is reported in five members of an Italian family. It may represent a previously undescribed autosomal dominant trait.

We analyzed the sphericity of the femoral head of dysplastic hips. Using standard anterior-posterior radiographs of the hips, we assessed the femoral head's deviation from a spherical shape using a computer algorithm and via Severin grading. The method presented could serve as a useful tool to quantify differences in sphericity in cases where it is difficult to grade the hip radiologically.

Background 18F-fluoride Positron Emission Tomography (fluoride-PET) is a functional imaging technique that mainly detects the acceleration of bone metabolism. We previously demonstrated the usefulness of fluoride-PET in various stages of hip osteoarthritis. Interestingly, the uptake was recognized even in the case without marked radipgraphical findings. The significant uptake in fluoride-PET in...

The acetabular coverage of the femoral head has been assessed in two-dimensions as the projected covered area or the covered angle on plain radiographs. We present a novel method of the three-dimensional assessment of femoral head coverage obtained by evaluating the covered volume of the femoral head in both normal and dysplastic hips. We also assessed the covered angles on the vertical slices ...

Acetabular redirection osteotomy can be used to relieve pain, improve function, and extend the life of dysplastic hip joints. To understand better the factors that may determine the acetabular reorientation that minimizes pressures, joint contact pressures were calculated by computer assisted methods in 70 dysplastic and 12 normal hips (82 patients). Calculated pressures were consistent with pr...

We studied the morphometry of 35 femora from 31 female patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and another 15 from 15 age- and sex-matched control patients using CT and three-dimensional computer reconstruction models. According to the classification of Crowe et al 15 of the dysplastic hips were graded as class I (less than 50% subluxation), ten as class I/III (50% to 100% sublux...

Soft tissue damage has been observed in hip joints with pathological geometries. Our primary goal was to study the relationship between morphological variations of the bony components of the hip and resultant stresses within the soft tissues of the joint during routine daily activities. The secondary goal was to find the range of morphological parameters in which stresses are minimized. Computa...