IHDI receives praise in orthopedic journal commentary
Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research is a widely circulated orthopedic journal that is highly respected. Occasionally, the editors will ask an expert to comment on a scientific study that has been published in the journal. This provides an unbiased opinion from another expert.
Recently a commentary was written about a hip dysplasia study. The study provided a review of 71 cases treated by traction and surgery at a single medical center. The commentary praised the authors for the quality of their research but suggested that we could do more. Here are the final paragraphs of the commentary.
“Currently there are no large individual or institutional series available, so data must be pooled, but we must do this with better approaches than are possible using traditional systematic reviews of small patient groups.
How Do We Get There?
Global studies with international collaborations, similar to those being undertaken prospectively by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI), are vitally necessary and require vision, strong leadership, and tenured funding— only then will we be able to answer these questions with robust evidence of support and higher levels of confidence. The IHDI model is one worth expanding in order to improve the quality of life for those whose care extends beyond skeletal maturity.” (Cundy P, 2015 Clin Orthop Relat Res. 473(8):2670-1)
These are encouraging words for us, but there is much to be done to accomplish our goals. Your help and support is greatly appreciated. As you may know, many of the advances in medicine are funded by drug company research or by orthopedic implant manufacturers. Some federal grants are available but the government has decreased funding in many areas of medical research. Since treatment of hip dysplasia does not require drugs or expensive implants, the IHDI depends on public donations to support our efforts. We are grateful to Larry the Cable Guy and his Git-R-Done Foundation for their generous support but we truly need your support in order to accomplish more. Thanks.
