About Hip Dysplasia

In acetabular dysplasia the hip socket is poorly developed, resulting in a socket that is shallow and shaped like a saucer, rather than a cup. The top of the socket is obliquely inclined, and incompletely covers the ball. This results in abnormally high stress on the outer edge of the socket (also called acetabulum) and leads to early damage to the acetabular articular cartilage (white substance on the end of a chicken bone) or the adjacent acetabular labrum. The labrum is a soft tissue bumper that attaches to the rim of the socket. Once this damage occurs, people often begin experiencing hip pain.

Most people with acetabular dysplasia do not have hip pain during childhood, but many develop pain during adolescence and early adulthood. The pain is typically dull and achy and may be in the groin, side of hip or buttock. Occasionally patients will feel sharp catching pain along with the aching pain.

A hip dysplasia diagnosis is confirmed with an x-ray. An MRI or MRI arthrogram (MRI with dye placed in the hip joint) can assess the condition of the joint cartilage and labrum.

Help is available if you have hip dysplasia — learn more about your treatment options.

To learn more about hip dysplasia, visit the International Hip Dysplasia Institute.

After my surgeries, I have achieved so many great things academically and in athletics. In March 2024, I competed at NDA High School Nationals just two months after getting eight screws removed from my hips and five months after my second PAO surgery. My team placed second and third in the nation. In April 2024, I started my fourth season on my high schools varsity dance team, as well as my third year as varsity captain. In July 2024, around 9 months after my second surgery, I was named to the NDA All-American team and awarded my second NDA Excellence in Leadership Award. In August 2024, I was a year out from my first surgery and was dancing almost at my full potential again. In February 2025, I led my team to a fourth place finish in both the AAA pom and AAA kick categories at IHSDTA State Finals, while also being named to the Academic All-State team and receiving 1 of 5 IHSDTA Scholarships. The next weekend, I competed at Solo State Finals and placed in the top 10 out of over 60 senior soloists in the state of Indiana. I will be attending Butler University in the fall to major in Psychology with a minor in Sports Coaching, with the hopes of being a Sports Performance Psychologist. I will also be trying out for the nationally ranked Butler Dance Team in just over a month. None of these great accomplishments would have ever been possible without the help of Dr. Ellis and the Orthopedic ONE staff. I am so grateful for all of the guidance they have given me throughout my journey both before and after my surgeries.

Emily Rich

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My daughter, who was 14 at the time, was having hip pain during volleyball season in the fall of 2019. After volleyball, she was in extreme pain and it was making her life difficult.

We took her to a doctor who said she had snapping hip syndrome and needed physical therapy. After a few weeks, her therapist was not satisfied with her progression and recommended that she have an MRI. Once the MRI was complete, the doctor couldn't find any aliments aside from snapping hip and said if she was having more pain she could try injections. I was not thrilled with the idea of my 14-year old daughter getting injections.

Our therapist recommended making an appointment with Dr. Thomas Ellis to get a second opinion. Dr. Ellis looked at the same MRI images as the first doctor and could see that she had slight hip dysplasia which caused her to have snapping hip, CAMs, and a torn labrum. Dr. Ellis and his team performed surgery on her right hip at Dublin Methodist Hospital in January 2020, and she was able to play volleyball in the fall of 2020. Dr. Ellis performed the same procedure on her left hip in October 2020. She is about a month or so away from recovery and heading on to do great things without pain!

Thank God for second opinions, Dr. Ellis, and his amazing team!

Anonymous

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