We (Alli and Chase Prettelt) are sharing on the behalf of our 2 year old son – Owen Prettelt: 

Owen was diagnosed with double developmental dysplasia of the hips (DDH) when he was 1 week of age (caused from being breech most of my pregnancy – At 37 weeks, we did an ECV to flip Owen and get him facing the right direction).  At Owen’s very first pediatric appointment, his wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Ashli West, felt excessive clicking and popping of his hips and  sent us to further investigate what she thought to be signs of hip dysplasia.  

After confirming his diagnosis by ultrasound, Owen went to see a pediatric orthopedic doctor, Dr. Eric Bankert, who put Owen into a Pavlik harness for 4 weeks.  We had high hopes that this would correct his hips, however the harness treatment was unsuccessful.  Dr. Bankert decided to pass Owen onto another pediatric orthopedic doctor, Dr. Carter Clement, who was better suited to handle more severe cases.  

In August of 2022, at 6 months of age, Owen underwent closed reduction surgery on both hips, followed by 12 weeks in a spica cast.  After surgery that day, Dr. Clement had warned Chase and I that, although both of Owen’s hips were out of socket, his right hip was much more severe, and he was unsure if closed reduction would do the trick. Because of this uncertainty, they monitored Owen’s hips every two weeks with X-ray to ensure the hips were still in the socket and developing correctly.  At each check-up, Owen’s hips looked great.  Although difficult at times, we made it through the entire 12-week spica journey!

Even though Owen was required to wear a rhino brace, this was much better than the spica cast, and we could finally snuggle our soft baby again.  However, this was only until Owen’s 6-month post-surgery follow up appointment, where we got the gut-wrenching news that his right hip was slipping out of the socket.  Owen would need an open reduction surgery followed by 6 more weeks in a spica cast.  

This time in the spica cast would be much more difficult because Owen had learned to walk and was much more mobile compared to his first spica journey.  On September 15, 2023 Dr. Clement performed open reduction and pelvic osteotomy surgery on Owen’s right hip.  

Our sweet boy adjusted quickly to his new normal.  However, 5 weeks into our 6 week recovery something just didn’t seem right with Owen.  Owen had been very fussy and was not acting himself for a few days.  During this time, we noticed his cast looked off-center and was shifted to the left more than normal.  We assumed the cast might have been rubbing on his skin and causing all the fussiness.  We took him to see Dr. Clement at Children’s Hospital of NOLA.  An X-ray was ordered and then they trimmed some of the cast to prevent excess irritation.   We returned home to finish out one more week in the spica cast.  

After a few hours of being home we discovered the true reason for Owen’s fussiness.  During a diaper change, we noticed discharge that appeared to be coming from the incision area.   We reached out to Dr. Clement and he wanted to see Owen back at CHNOLA immediately.  Owen ended up having a serious infection and he had to immediately have surgery to get the incision cleaned.  The doctor went all the way back down to the pelvic bone to clean the incision and also took out the bone graft in case that was causing the infection.  Owen had to spend a few days in the hospital to monitor his infection. But, on a positive note, his spica cast was removed.  Along with incision care, Owen would have to sport another post-op hip brace for 2 more weeks.

After all of this, Owen had two more post-surgery follow ups. On March 26, 2024 Owen was declared hip healthy!!! Although Owen’s journey is far from over, and we will continue to see Dr. Clement routinely until growing has ceased, we count our blessings – this is fixable, and hopefully, if corrected now, Owen will experience no effects later in life.  Throughout this journey Owen has amazed us with how brave, strong, and resilient he is when faced with each medical issue and obstacle.  We are forever thankful to the care and expertise of all the wonderful doctors and nurses that we have met during this hip journey.  

Little Hip Warrior – Owen Prettelt          Story told by his parents Alli and Chase Prettelt

Thank you for enjoying the hip dysplasia stories. The stories shared by our community members are intended for information and entertainment only. We are incredibly grateful to our hip dysplasia community members who have taken the time to share their experiences and journeys through hip dysplasia. These stories reflect individual experiences and journeys. Nothing in these stories is intended as medical advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with qualified health professionals who are familiar with your individual medical needs. Miles4Hips does not endorse specific healthcare providers or institutions, and information or opinions shared in these stories does not necessarily reflect those of Miles4Hips or the International Hip Dysplasia Institute.