Perspectives on Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease

The world of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCP) has been full of activity but there has been little progress made. We are as unsure of the indications for treatment now as we were half a century ago and, in fact, the evidence that any treatment is effective is weak. Our understanding of the disease is incomplete; nevertheless each of us, as a surgeon, must develop a working approach to the problem in order to deal with the patients who present with this condition. This article, therefore, will not attempt to provide recommendations for management, but will present ideas and a framework that might help orthopaedic surgeons to gather their thoughts about this condition, and to develop their own working approach.