The Functional Method of Treatment Using a Harness With Stirrups as the Primary Method of Conservative Therapy for Infants With Congenital Dislocation of the Hip

Arnold Pavlik (1902–1965; Fig. 1) was born in Slavko, Czechoslovakia, not far from the field of the famous battle of Austerlitz. He studied at the university in Brno and later became an assistant to Frejka in the clinic in Bruno, where he had ample opportunity to observe the treatment of patients with congenital dislocations of the hip. In 1939, he became head of the orthopedic clinic in Olmutz and when, after World War II, the Palacky-University was established, he was made professor of orthopedic surgery. Pavlik represented the second generation of orthopedic surgeons in Czechoslovakia, and he helped train many of the third generation. Pavlik became disappointed with the results of the treatment of congenital dislocation of the hip treated by immobilization in abduction because of the high incidence of aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. In his own clinic, he developed a functional method of treatment that permitted and even encouraged motion in the affected hip. The use of the so-called Pavlik harness required careful supervision and the active participation of the parents. However, as the experience of Pavlik showed, when applied early in infancy, the method could be remarkably successful and avoided the complication of aseptic necrosis of the femoral head.