Asymmetrically Increased Femoral Version with High Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Femoral Anteversion in Unilateral Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease

Purpose: To determine and stratify femoral version in Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD), and to compare the femoral version between the LCPD hip and the contralateral unaffected hip.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 45 patients with unilateral LCPD who had available CT scan through the hips and knees between January 2000 and June 2017. There were 34 (76%) male cases with a mean age of 14 years (sd 4.69). Two independent readers measured femoral version on the affected and the unaffected contralateral femur. Femoral version was classified as follows: severely decreased version (< 10°); moderately decreased (10° to 14°); normal femoral version range (15° to 20°); moderately increased (21° to 25°); and severely increased version (> 25°).

Results: LCPD hips had predominantly increased femoral version (38% severely increased anteversion, 24% moderately increased anteversion), while 51% of the contralateral unaffected hips had normal femoral version (p < 0.001). LCPD hips had higher mean femoral version than the contralateral, unaffected side (mean difference = 13; 95% confidence iterval 10 to 16; p < 0.001). As the version of the affected hip increased, so did the discrepancy between sides. No effect of sex on the LCPD femoral version was detected (p = 0.34).

Conclusion: This study included a selected group of patients with unilateral LCPD and available CT scans obtained for surgical planning. The femoral version was asymmetric, with a high proportion of excessive anteversion observed at later stages of disease in the affected hips. Future studies will be necessary to determine the pathogenesis of increased femoral version associated with LCPD.

Level Of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective study.