Role of magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of acetabular and femoral version in developmental dysplasia of the hip.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of femoral and acetabular version in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study of 20 consecutive patients with DDH (27 dysplastic hips) who were examined with MRI. In dysplastic and normal hips (DDH and comparison groups, respectively), we evaluated the following parameters: osseous acetabular anteversion (OAA); cartilaginous acetabular anteversion (CAA); femoral anteversion; osseous Mckibbin index (OMI); cartilaginous Mckibbin index (CMI); and the thickness of the anterior and posterior acetabular cartilage.

RESULTS

The OAA was significantly greater in the dysplastic hips. The CAA, femoral anteversion, OMI, and CMI did not differ significantly between the normal and dysplastic hips. In the DDH and comparison groups, the OAA was significantly lower than the CAA, the OMI was significantly lower than the CMI, and the posterior acetabular cartilage was significantly thicker than the anterior cartilage.

CONCLUSION

Our findings confirm that MRI is a valuable tool for the assessment of femoral and acetabular version in DDH. Preoperative MRI evaluation has great potential to improve the planning of pelvic and femoral osteotomies.