Preoperative State-of-the-Art Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Hip

Hip pain is a frequent complaint of pediatric patients and advanced radiologic imaging is often helpful in elucidating an accurate diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely implemented for evaluating pediatric hip conditions because it does not use ionizing radiation. This article describes newer MRI techniques that aid in the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of Perthes disease and labral pathology. These include dynamic gadolinium-enhanced subtraction MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI, and new radial sequence in MRI hip arthrogram. MRI is a proven means to provide diagnostic and prognostic information without the use of ionizing radiation. Early detection of subtle changes in pediatric hip conditions is tremendously aided by newer MRI techniques that can temporally stage pathology and assist in the management of the disease.