The Hip Disorders Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and long-term follow- up for infants, children, teens and young adults with hip disorders.

Whether your child is a premature infant with a congenital hip deformity, a teen with a newly developed hip problem or a young adult with lingering effects of pediatric hip disease, our specially trained orthopedic team has the expertise and experience needed to produce the best outcomes.

Our program is one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric hip programs in the United States. Led by a core group of experienced orthopedic surgeons, our team has special expertise in hip conservation in adolescents and young adults to stop continued damage to bone and cartilage and prevent the need for premature hip replacement. Our surgeons perform some of the most complex orthopedic surgical procedures in the world.

Orthopedics at CHOP is consistently ranked among the best in the nation, again earning the No. 1 spot on the 2024-25 U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Children's Hospitals.

All surgeons in CHOP’s Hip Disorders Program have extensive training and experience in pediatric orthopedics. In addition, Dr. Sankar completed a second specialized fellowship in adolescent hip surgery. He is the only physician in the region performing certain specialized hip surgeries on adolescents and young adults.

CHOP is a national leader in research on most pediatric hip conditions. Areas of active research include:

• Development of novel imaging protocols for children’s hips
• Optimizing the management of slipped capital femoral epiphysis
• Understanding the natural history of mild childhood dysplasia
• Causes of hip problems in youth with Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
• The genetic factors responsible for pediatric hip disease

In addition to the research being done at CHOP, our surgeons are key members of several multi-center research groups, including the International Perthes Study Group (IPSG), the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI) and the Academic Network of Conservational Hip Outcomes Research (ANCHOR).