Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome | |
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X ray of Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease of the right hip (left side of X-ray) | |
Pronunciation | |
Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | Orthopedics |
ICD-10 | M91.1 |
ICD-9-CM | 732.1 |
OMIM | 150600 |
DiseasesDB | 9891 |
MedlinePlus | 001264 |
eMedicine | radio/387 |
MeSH | D007873 |
Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease (LCPD) 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. It is also referred to as idiopathic avascular osteonecrosis of the capital femoral epiphysis of the femoral head since the cause of the interruption of the blood supply of the head of the femur in the hip joint is unknown.
The condition is most commonly found in children between the ages of 4 and 8, but it can occur in children between the ages of 2 and 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. It is also commonly known as Perthes disease, or Legg–Perthes disease. Perthes is a form of osteochondritis which only affects the hip, although other forms of osteochondritis can affect elbows, knees, ankles, and feet. Bilateral Perthes, which means both hips are affected, should always be investigated thoroughly to rule out multiple epiphyseal dysplasia.
The name originated from: Arthur Legg (1874-1939), an American orthopedic surgeon, Jacques Calvé (1875-1954), French orthopedic surgeon, and Georg Perthes, German orthopedic surgeon. The disease name was first described by Karel Maydl.