Arthrogram in Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease

There is a consensus among researchers that the treatment for Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, whether conservative or surgical, is always based on the concept of "containment," that is, maintaining the femoral head inside the acetabulum socket throughout the entire evolution of the disease. Thus, the size and shape of the proximal femoral epiphysis should be monitored during the evolution of the disease. Although diagnosis is carried out by conventional radiographies in many medical institutions, this examination does not give us this information. Therefore, it becomes necessary to resort to other examination techniques, such as pneumoarthrography and magnetic resonance imaging. In our institution, we noticed the importance of hip arthrography in Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease from a study carried out by Laredo in 1985 that classified the disease into 5 groups based on the form and size of the femoral head and its position in the labrum. According to this researcher, group III, which he called "hip at premature arthrographic risk," requires action and yields the best results. The researchers have the opinion that dynamic pneumoarthrography is the best method for establishing an ideal position for the femoral head in relation to the acetabulum when surgical treatment is indicated.