slipped femoral epiphysis

Epidemiology

• children/adolescents - age 10-14 years
• most often, it develops during periods of accelerated growth, shortly after the onset of puberty
• more 2-3 fold more common in males than females

Pathology

• the head of the femur slips off in a backward direction due to weakness of the growth plate

Clinical manifestations

• several weeks or months of hip pain or knee pain
• intermittent limp
  • in some cases, inability to bear weight
• the affected leg is usually turned outward in comparison to the normal leg
• the affected leg may also appear to be shorter
• restricted range of motion of affected hip
  • restricted hip flexion
  • inability to fully rotate the hip inward
  • guarding at extremes of range of motion

Complications

• avascular osteonecrosis of femoral head
• chondrolysis

Management

• orthopedic surgery
  • fixing the femoral head with pins or screws
• traction (CPT)

More general terms

• skeletal deformity
• developmental disorder

Additional terms

• epiphysis
• femur