Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease

Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is characterized by a phenotype of short stature, delayed bone age, and hyperactivity.

Although several etiologies have been proposed, a multifactorial involvement is most likely.

Typically unilateral, though bilateral involvement is present in 10% of cases.

Clinical features include a limping gait and hip pain frequently radiating into the thigh, knees, groin, or buttocks. Pain worsens during activities.

Treatment is age-dependent. Options include mobilization and monitoring, nonsurgical or surgical containment, or salvage procedures.

A self-limiting disease of the femoral head comprising necrosis, collapse, repair, and remodeling that presents in the first decade of life and is more commonly seen in boys. The cause is hypothesized to be single or multiple vascular events, followed by revascularization. In later life, it can lead to a painful and poorly functioning hip. The disease was first described independently by Jacques Calvé, Arthur T. Legg, and Georg Perthes in 1910.