Posted by Gary on March 16, 2004 at 09:27:51:
In Reply to: Does perthes get passed on? posted by michael on March 12, 2004 at 11:16:45:
Michael, All the medical literature I have read on the subject says that Perthes is not hereditary. It is not passed on genetically from parent to child. The researchers have found no link that can predict that a child will develop Perthes related to his/her parent having had the condition.
There is, however, much information about Perthes occurring in different generations of the same family. Usually it is not a parent/child situation but rather it occurs in cousins or in grandparent/grandchild relationships. In some instances there is an aunt of uncle who had Perthes. The way the journal articles describe this relationship is "familial". That is, it occurs in some families. There also appear to be some groups of people more likely to develop Perthes than others.
Since no one can definitively say what causes the interruption of circulation that results in Perthes, there is no clear indication how it may be present in members of the same family.
The good news is that you are not likely to pass on Perthes to your children. On the other hand, since you had Perthes, if your child has symptoms that might indicate Perthes, an examination by a pediatric orthopedic specialist is probably warranted.