THE OPERATIVE VERSUS THE MANIPULATIVE TREATMENT OF SLIPPED FEMORAL EPIPHYSIS

Abstract

The treatment of slipped femoral epiphysis, sometimes called epiphysiolysis, epiphyseal fracture of the hip joint, epiphyseal coxa vara, or osteochondritis of the neck of the femur, is still perplexing and in a state of flux because of the poor ultimate results obtained by the present methods. The literature is replete with end result studies that are, to say the least, discouraging. It is because of these failures that a number of investigators have proposed new methods of procedure. It is not our purpose to enter into a clinical description of this condition but rather to consider certain features of the anatomy and physiology of the hip and of the symptomatology which have a bearing on the rationale that should guide the orthopedic surgeon in his therapy. <h3>ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY</h3> With the approach of puberty several anatomic and physiologic features become manifest: 1. The epiphyseal plate between the head and the