We evaluated a consecutive series of thirty-four patients who had had
Legg-Perthes disease to determine the results of treatment with the
Scottish Rite weight-bearing abduction orthosis. All patients had been
older than six years at the time of the onset of the symptoms, had been in
the fragmentation phase of the disease when they were first seen, and had
had Catterall group-III or IV involvement. Although comparison of this
series with those reported previously is difficult due to the variability
of the presentation of data in the literature, this orthosis does not
appear to offer an advantage compared with other methods of management, or
with no treatment, for patients such as those whom we studied.