Baby Hip Clinic

The Baby Hip Clinic provides conservative management of children with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The Baby Hip Clinic is primarily for children less than 1 year of age. 

The Baby Hip Clinic, part of the Division of Orthopaediac Surgery, is an inter-professional clinic that includes an orthopaedic surgeon, a physiotherapist practitioner, a senior secretary, fellows, residents, orthotists, clinic nurses and administrators. The clinic is designed to assess and treat babies with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). Babies with dislocated hips are ideally seen at the earliest available clinic date. 

All other babies are ideally seen around six weeks of age. Patients requiring treatment in a Pavlik Harness will be seen every one to four weeks to check progress and adjust the harness for growth. An orthotist will apply the harness and full treatment in the harness usually lasts 12-16 weeks. Patients requiring operative management will be followed in a surgeon’s elective clinic. 

Upon completion of treatment, children are monitored and return to clinic in intervals of six months to four years. 

What to bring: 

• Your child’s health card ready for every appointment, as well as the contact information for your family doctor or paediatrician. 
• In the event that treatment is needed, please bring a set of clothing, one size larger than what your child currently wears, to the appointment. 

Important pre-appointment instructions: 

To ensure your clinic visit runs smoothly, please bring outside imaging (ultrasounds, X-rays) on a CD. Family doctors do not send your child’s imaging to SickKids, so please ask them for a copy on a disc or bring the original films. 

Directions: 

The Baby Hip Clinic is located within the Orthopaedic Clinic on the Main Floor of the Hill Wing (Gerrard Street), near Tim Hortons. Clinic registration is through the hallway between the Hill Wing elevators. 

If you are using the underground parking, please take the elevator to the Main Floor. Entrance to the Orthopedic Clinic is through automated double doors next to Starbucks: Go through these doors, follow the signs and footprints down the hallway to the clinic. 

You will be asked to register, using your child’s health card. We will check your family doctor’s name, as well as your home address and telephone number. We will also ask you questions about recent travel and exposure to childhood illnesses such as chicken pox. 

The Baby Hip Clinic is run by surgeons and physical therapy practitioners. You can expect to be seen by one or both during your appointment. 

Please be aware that you may wait up to 3 hours in our waiting room due to unexpected events in our clinic. 

More information:

If you are calling to inquire about your child’s referral from your family doctor or preliminary consultation clinic appointment, please dial 416-813-4834 or 416-813-7041. 

If you cannot come to your scheduled clinic appointment or have a question about your appointment, please call the clinic clerk at 416-813-3199. We will try our best to schedule another appointment as soon as possible, based on availability at that time. You may need to leave a message due to the high volumes of calls received. If you leave a message, you can expect to hear back from us within 24 hours. 

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