Perthes Disease

Legg–Calvé–Perthes (Perthes Disease) is a childhood hip disorder initiated by a disruption of blood flow to the ball of the femur called the femoral head. Due to the lack of blood flow, the bone dies (osteonecrosis or avascular necrosis) and stops growing. Over time, healing occurs by new blood vessels infiltrating the dead bone and removing the necrotic bone which leads to a loss of bone mass and a weakening of the femoral head. The bone loss leads to some degree of collapse and deformity of the femoral head and sometimes secondary changes to the shape of the hip socket. The disease is most commonly found in children between the ages of 4 to 8 but it can occur in children between the ages of 2 to 15. The main long-term problem with this condition is that it can produce a permanent deformity of the femoral head which increases the risk of developing osteoarthritis in adults.

People with Perthes Disease usually present in young adulthood after childhood treatment with hip pain due to degenerative changes of the hip.

The usual treatment is a total hip replacement.