Perthes Disease Discussion with Dr. Harry Kim

Perthes disease, also known as Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, is a childhood hip disorder that primarily affects the ball part of the hip joint. This ball is called the femoral head which sits on top of the thigh bone called femur. The femoral head is normally round and fits inside the round socket of the pelvis, called the acetabulum.
In Perthes disease, the blood supply to the femoral head is disrupted and all or part of the femoral head dies from the lack of blood flow. This death of the bone is called “avascular necrosis” or “osteonecrosis” of the femoral head. The femoral head is weakened after the bone death and can become flattened due to weight and pressure placed on the bone during normal physical activity. Over a one to two-year period, the dead bone in the femoral head is slowly removed and replaced with new bone.
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