leg length

[mommy2842]

My toddler is 18 months old and when he was 15 months he devoloped a limp.  in the three months since then his limp has gotten worse and it looked like he was loosing baby fat in one leg but not the other. But after seeing the doctor and looking more closely I see that the right leg is longer and bigger around than the left(bigger at the knee than anywhere else).  everything including his toes and the lenth of his feet is different. He has had x-rays, a bone scan, and we are waiting for an MRI result.  He shows one sign of hip displasia, the crease behind his right knee is higher then the left, but the x-ray and bone scan shows there is none. he has no bone fractures and the doctor is bafled by his limp.  THe only reason the MRI is being done is because I insisted on it.  Is there anyone else out there with the same problem or any other testing ideas to help find out what is wrong with my child?

[RockRose]

In the knee, and hip joints there is a fatty pad that has growth hormones (or maybe attracts growth hormones,  I don't know) that when that is damaged,  the limb will grow more slowly than it should.

This is a huge problem in small children who severely damage a joint - the fear that they've damaged the little "growth plate" located in the joint.

You say your son has one sign of hip dysplasia - could that growth pad be damaged in that hip?

[mommy2842]

His bone scan shows no damage to the "growth plates" in any part of his body.  But it doesn't seem as though one leg is growing slower.  It seems as if the one leg is growing faster than the rest of his body.  He is fairly skinny every where except his right leg!

[RockRose]

Mommy,  so maybe the problem isn't the small leg,  but the larger one?    Have they done the same testing on the larger one?  

[mommy2842]

The larger leg is the one they are testing.  If the next results show nothing I an going to have them test them at the same time to show comparison.  THe bone scan was full body but he had the right leg bent and it makes leg length harder to measure.