Preoperative intermittent manual traction in congenital dislocation of the hip.

To avoid prolonged hospitalization and the complications of skin and skeletal traction, we have devised a method of intermittent preoperative manual traction in the treatment of congenital dislocation of the hip. Of 60 hips that were followed for more than 1 year, 88.3% had Class I or Class II results according to Severin's criteria. No hip in this series was complicated by avascular necrosis of the proximal femoral epiphysis.