HEALING A YOUNG HIP A GIRL LOOKS TOWARD A PAIN-FREE FUTURE THANKS TO JOINT-SPARING SURGERY.
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year ago, Cheyanne Eppley of Hamilton Township could barely move without excruciating pain. The 13-year-old had trouble just walking around a grocery store and often woke so stiff and sore that she needed help getting out of bed. Today Cheyanne is living her best life. The eighth grader alternates between defense and goalie on her soccer team and has rejoined the jazz and hip-hop dance classes that once gave her so much joy. Healthy Together
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Cheyanne’s mobility problems stemmed from a form of hip dysplasia—a condition in which the thighbone (femur) doesn’t properly fit with the pelvis. In Cheyanne’s case, the hip socket was too shallow, allowing the ball at the top of the femur to slip out, or dislocate. The dysplasia damaged the joint, leading to pain and loss of function. Athletic children like Cheyanne— particularly if they participate in activities that place a load on their
hips such as dance, hockey, soccer and football—can develop challenging symptoms of hip dysplasia early in life. “We went to several different doctors and hospitals to try and figure out where the pain was coming from and what to do about it,” says Cheyanne’s mother, Samantha, an interventional radiology scheduling coordinator at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Hamilton. “They said they couldn’t fix it until she was done growing, which
Winter 2022
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