From the Beginning!

My complicated Medical and Surgical History begins early:

I was born with a congenital condition called Developmental Dislocation (Dysplasia) of the Hip (DDH). It affected both hips. They were both dislocated, however, the Right one corrected without surgery (wide diapers), and the Left one required 4 open, and 3 closed reductions. I was in a body cast off and on until the age of 3 when I learned to walk. Thank God for The Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children in Houston,Tx. I had a full hip replacement in Austin, Tx in June 2008, and the surgery failed. I had a successful hip revision in Lubbock, Tx in September 2009. This condition runs in our family.

Here is some great information:

Developmental Dysplasia (dislocation) of the hip (DDH) is an abnormal formation of the hip joint in which the ball on top of the thighbone (femur) is not held firmly in the socket. In some instances, the ligaments of the hip joint may be loose and stretched.
The degree of hip looseness, or instability, varies in DDH. In some children, the thighbone is simply loose in the socket at birth. In other children, the bone is completely out of the socket. In still other children, the looseness worsens as the child grows and becomes more active.

In a normal hip, the head of the femur is firmly inside the hip socket.

In some cases of DDH, the thighbone is completely out of the hip socket.

Pediatricians screen for DDH at a newborn's first examination and at every well-baby checkup thereafter. When the condition is detected at birth, it can usually be corrected. But if the hip is not dislocated at birth, the condition may not be noticed until the child begins walking. At this time, treatment is more complicated and uncertain.
Left untreated, DDH can lead to pain and osteoarthritis by early adulthood. It may produce a difference in leg length or a "duck-like" gait and decreased agility. If treated successfully (and the earlier the better), children regain normal hip joint function. However, even with appropriate treatment, especially in children 2 years or older, hip deformity and osteoarthritis may develop later in life.

DDH tends to run in families. It can be present in either hip and in any individual. It usually affects the left hip and is predominant in:

• Girls
• First-born children
• Babies born in the breech position (especially with feet up by the shoulders). The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends ultrasound DDH screening of all female breech babies.

Some babies born with a dislocated hip will show no outward signs.
Contact a pediatrician if your baby has:

• Legs of different lengths
• Uneven skin folds on the thigh
• Less mobility or flexibility on one side
• Limping, toe walking, or a waddling, duck-like gait 

 Reference: (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00347)