DEFINITION AND INCIDENCE:
DEFINITION AND INCIDENCE Legg-Calve-Perthes disease(LCPD)is a disorder of the hip in young children which is characterized by varying degrees of necrosis of the femoral ossific nucleus.It is most common in the age range of 3 to 10 years but also reported in children as young as 2 years and also in the late teenage years.It is more common in boys than girls by a ratio of 4:1 and it is bilateral in about 10 to 12%.
AETIOLOGY:
AETIOLOGY This disease is caused by loss of an adequate blood supply for the whole or at least a portion of the femoral head.Blood supply to the femoral head at the age group between 3 and 10 years comes via the femoral neck and across the periphery of the epiphyseal line in a lateral location(lateral retinacular vessels from the extracapsular arterial ring and lateral epiphyseal vessels from the subsynovial ring).
AETIOLOGY(cont…):
AETIOLOGY(cont…) Any condition that increases the intracapsular pressure may put the femoral head at risk of being affected by this disease.Increased intracapsular pressure may be increased in inflammatory conditions of the hip such as synovitis,septic arthritis or traumatic heamarthrosis.Other medical conditions such as rickettsial infections,Caisson’s disease,cretinism and Gaucher’s disease can cause perthes’disease.