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Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis

Treat the slip as soon as possible.

Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE) is a disorder of the growth plate when the head of the thigh bone slips backwards and downward at the point of the growth plate. The slips typically occur in overweight children between 11 and 16 years old but can happen also in normally weight children in this age spam. There are two types of SCFE: the stable (the child can walk) and the unstable (more severe, where the child cannot put wait on the affected leg).

SCFE is typically presented with intermittent limp, pain in the groin, hip or knee or inability to bear weight. Surgery in these cases is obligatory.

SCFE is diagnosed by physical exam including rotation of the affected leg and x-rays. A plain x-ray with a lateral view of the hip involved, is the golden standard diagnostic method, to identify this condition. Our institution receives many children with SCFE every year and these children secure a quick diagnosis and the best surgical treatment.

The treatment consists in preventing further slippage of the femoral bone and avoid complications. The most common type of surgery is the screw fixation of the head of the femoral bone, through the growth plate.