Leon Paulson-Vu

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Leon developed Legg-Calvè Perthes this winter after developing a limp that wouldn’t go away.  We took Leon in and the doctor thought it could be something with his growth plates and had him go get and X-ray which revealed bone decay. From this bone decay the doctors diagnosed him with Perthes and sent him to Gillette’s to see a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Legg-Calvè Perthes is a rare childhood disease, it occurs when the blood flow in the hip is disturbed temporarily. The blood flow loss results in the top of the femur dying and the bone slowly breakdowns.  The body will naturally heal and rebuild Leon’s femur. The issue is Leon is older and his fast growing years ended around 6. He had 50% blood flow and is a Class B patient. This means Leon needs intervention to help keep his  the top head of his femur as smooth as possible. Tomorrow Thursday May 23rd he will  be getting a femoral osteotomy. This entails cutting the femur and re-angling the bone so it tips in, which makes his right leg angle inwards.  Leon won’t like this because you want your feet to be normal and he will naturally pull his leg out and re-center his femur inside the hip more. After the surgery Leon will be able to walk but no running or jumping  2-4 years. Thanks to everyone that have volunteered to help and sent Leon words of encouragement. We will keep everyone posted as we can.