Surveillance after treatment of children with developmental dysplasia of the hip: current UK practice and the proposed Stanmore protocol.

Monitoring of a patient with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is required after initial treatment to ensure early detection and correction of complications or poor progression. We established the current practice of surveillance in DDH in the UK. A protocol has been designed at this unit with the aim of identifying the stages in the progression of DDH when imaging of the hip is necessary to detect failure or possible complications of treatment. The outcomes and secondary procedure rates under the surveillance protocol used at this unit, for a UK population, have been reviewed with a minimum of 5 years of follow-up. Frequency of follow-up has been reported as yearly or more frequently until skeletal maturity by 70% of respondents. Ninety patients presenting with DDH were managed under the protocol developed at this unit, with equivalent outcomes as those in patients who reported yearly follow-up. Following our proposed protocol we believe it is possible to limit disruption to the patient's life, reduce costs and maintain compliance and ensure timely detection of any complications, without significant increase in secondary procedure rates.