Kuwait Witnesses High Incidence of Dislocated Hips at Birth

Visiting UK Surgeon Lectures at Royale Hayat Hospital

Dr. Robert Hill, Chairman of the Medical Board at Portland Hospital in the UK, gave a CME (Continuing Medical Education) accredited lecture on common orthopedics problems in children, at Royale Hayat Hospital on Monday, October 27.

The lecture focused on the most common problems occurring in children needing orthopaedic care, including flatfoot, cerebral palsy, and other deformities such as natal dislocated hips and club foot.

According to Dr. Hill, there is a noticeably higher incidence of flat foot and DDH in Kuwait. DDH, which stands for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip, means the child is born with a hip that is unstable in its socket, and can lead to hip dislocation. DDH naturally occurs in 20 out of every 100 births, with a 2% occurrence of a displaced hip.

The outlook and treatment for such orthopaedic woes is optimistic, as the understanding and literature on the topic has broadened the treatment strategies and lessened the pain inflicted on children needing treatment.

“Advances in the understanding of treatment methods allow us to not inflict unnecessary treatment on children. For instance, there was once a time when a bowlegged child was put in leg splints every night for three years to straighten out their legs when we now know that the problem naturally fixes itself,” said Dr. Hill.

A frequent visitor to hospitals in the Middle East, Dr. Hill has a national and international reputation and has lectured both in the UK and abroad on various courses as a member of faculty.

The lecture given by Dr. Hill was one of many collaborations between Royale Hayat Hospital and external hospitals and healthcare professionals to educate and broaden the knowledge base of the community in Kuwait.

The event lecture was sponsored by Abbott Laboratories.