AID/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — When a doctor told GMA co-anchor Lara Spencer that she needed a hip replacement, Spencer — an active woman in her 40s — was shocked.
“It was so upsetting. I was like ‘what?'” she said, recalling her reaction to the news last year.
Spencer was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, also known as developmental dysplasia of the hip, or DDH, which led to painful arthritis. Her doctors told her that she had probably had DDH since birth.
About 10 percent of all hip replacements are due to DDH, according to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. Advances in medicine though are making hip replacements due to the condition rarer.
Today, every baby is screened for DDH. If it’s detected, early intervention helps avoid surgery later in life.
“Hip dysplasia is one of the more common congenital things that children are born with … so, it is an important part of the newborn exam. And there’s a lot more awareness and discussion of it for pediatricians and orthopedic surgeons, because it is treatable,” said Dr. Ernie Sink, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.
Some newborns are at higher risk for the condition, including those with a family history of DDH, babies who are born breech – that is, buttocks or feet first — or those born with a dislocated or loose hip. An ultrasound can reveal the problem.
About one to two babies per 1,000 are born with DDH in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Emily Mench was born breech and diagnosed at birth with DDH.
“The doctor at the hospital was checking (her) legs and felt like he was able to pop it out,” Sara Kim, the mother of the 1-year-old girl, told ABC News, adding: “He described it as a shallow hip socket.”
Emily was fitted with a Pavlik harness when she was just two days old. She wore it around the clock for two months to reposition her hips correctly. Doctors say she’s now on track.
“She’s got a clean bill of health,” Kim said, adding that the child’s doctor doesn’t expect Emily to have any future problems related to the DDH. “She’s not going to have any hindrances, which is a great outcome.”
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