Hip Dysplasia

[jsh7809]

I had congenital hip dysplasia as a baby, and had to wear a clunky metal brace for about six months (I think) or more. I was really really hoping our baby girl was going to avoid this problem, and I'm feeling frustrated and confused about the diagnosis.
No visual problems or hip clicking was detected upon birth and her first pediatrician visits. However, to be 100% sure, they just gave her an ultrasound of the hip sockets at 6 weeks. The ultrasound tech said the hips looked normal, and the doctor she called in seemed to agree. He said that the degree of the angle in the hip socket (I think it was the depth of the socket) is at least 60, and hers were barely 60, but they were 60 degrees nevertheless. So I left that appointment with the STRONG impression that everything was fine, that we would keep an eye on it, and that I should maybe double diaper to be on the safe side.
Well, then I got a voicemail from her pediatrician (who we don't like, and who we are switching from) saying that DD has mild hip dysplasia and we shoudl be double or triple diapering until we hear from the orthopedic specialist. This was a voicemail left on a Friday evening so of course I am worrying all weekend long. I spoke to the on call pediatrician today who said that, yes, they are concerned about how "borderline" the degree was and that we will likely have to have the baby in a harness/ brace thing, and in the meantime we should be double diapering.
I know that there are much worse complications or problems that we could be facing. But it is breaking my heart to think that we are going to have to put this sweet, beautiful baby in a harness. I feel confused and ripped off that one opinion was "she's fine, we'll just keep an eye on it" and now we are being sent to a specialist in a big city an hour away.
It seems like a relatively small "borderline" issue, but of course we want to err on the side of caution. One of my aunts also had this problem but it wasn't caught in time, and she has had multiple surgeries, pain, and a limp all of her life. Mine was luckily caught early and the brace corrected it and I have had no complications.
Any advice or commiseration from moms who've been through this would be welcome. I don't mean to sound silly or ungrateful - again, I know that there could be much worse for us to face, but I am still having a lot of fear and worry and sadness around this.
I also just did some research online and am wondering if 60 degrees is really overcautious? I just know that this same hospital had us leaping through hoops when my pregnancy went past 40 weeks, to have her heartrate and amniotic fluid numbers meet some (seemingly arbitrary) criteria, and I can't help feeling like this is all probably fine...

[lifeguard]

There was a concern about ds - they checked him several times but actually had us wait until 3 months before making a real decision on it. By then it had corrected itself.

If it is that mild perhaps the double diapering is all you will need to do. Some doctors are just so much more alermist than they need to be.

Hope it works out for you.

[jsh7809]

Thank you! I feel that they are being alarmist, but then of course that I would be a terrible mom if I said, "no, we are not doing the brace" against medical advice.
Last night I was so upset that finally I told DH, "they are being stupid, she is fine, we are not doing the brace." I know that if I actually talk to the specialist and they make that recommendation, we will go ahead with it, but it is so much easier to tell myself that it's not going to happen.
I definitely want a second (well, third - the first opinion was that she was fine and the second was that she was on the border) opinion, but the problem with our HMO (Kaiser) is that they all have to tow a certain company line.

[NiteNicole]

My daughter was in a Pavlik hip harness from birth through 8 weeks. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fun. The harness they use now is very light weight. I didn't balk till the ortho suggested the hard brace and then I got a second opinion. Thank goodness I did, that guy was apparently all about taking our insurance for a ride.

ANYWAY, if your ped and your ortho agree, it's really much MUCH better to get it out of the way now than deal with it later. It's not fun, your baby will have some limited mobility but it will be over before you know it. It's way easier than finding out later that they might need surgery and a body cast, you know?

But if you have any doubt, get a second opinion from a second pediatric ortho.

I know it's hard, I really do. My baby is now 4.5 and she's been through a lot, though not nearly as much as others, and it feels terribly unfair that she can't just BE without all these complications. But I tell myself I'm lucky they even have all these interventions. Not so many years ago, what would our options have been?

[Otterella]

I don't know that much about hip dysplasia, so I don't know how the numbers translate to severity, but I would suggest wearing your baby often in a mei tai or SSC style carrier, especially on the back. The way the legs straddle in these styles of baby carriers are similar to the position they are held in the braces used to correct dysplasia.

Personally, I think they're leading you by the nose. I've had bad experiences with "specialists" and hospitals trying to manufacture problems in my child (and before that, my pregnancy) so they would have something to do, and I finally said enough and just stopped going. This was a completely different issue, but test after test confirmed my child was healthy while the doctor kept convincing himself that he wasn't. I think they just don't feel they've done their jobs if they don't find a problem and fix it, so they make them up.

[jsh7809]

Thanks for the opinions. It is a really, really tough call, because my impression is that the numbers are so "borderline" that it really depends - one doctor will say it's fine but keep an eye on it, and another will say we should just take care of it. Then again, she isn't the one that has to deal with a baby in a Pavlik harness for a couple of months.
I feel a lot of guilt for being so upset, since I know it is mostly a cosmetic thing/ pain in the butt, rather than causing her any pain or suffering. But my baby is so active and aware already, the thought of keeping her arms and legs in any way restrained breaks my heart.
We will keep asking for another opinion... and then I think I will have to trust my intuition. Obviously I don't want to have it become a problem with pain or surgery or any complications down the line. But I have to say, the fact that they had to do an ultrasound to detect any even potentially close-to-abnormalities makes me think it will be fine if left alone or double diapered, etc. My hips were visibly problematic, hers were cleared several times and would never have been suspected of being problematic if I didn't have the issue as a baby, and if they hadn't done the ultrasound.
Just the first of many tough decisions as a parent, I guess.

[Birdie B.]

Oh, I know how hard this is for you! Our daughter was born with hip dysplasia, and wore the Pavlik harness for her first 8 weeks. At first I was devastated, and it was a pain in the butt to deal with, but really, 8 weeks went by so fast! I would go ahead with, even if the dysplasia is mild, beacause the harness is so much easier than any other treatment option. Good luck!