The value of early postoperative bone scan in slipped capital femoral epiphysis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and predictive value of early postoperative bone scan for detection of avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head after surgical treatment of slipped capital femoral epiphysis. We reviewed records of 49 patients (64 hips) operated on between 1980 and 1997 with a mean follow-up of 3 years. Sixty-one out of 64 hips went through an early postoperative bone scan. The three hips that developed AVN showed significant loss of radionuclide uptake. There were neither false-positive or false-negative cases in this series. Early postoperative bone scan has an excellent sensitivity and predictive value for detection of AVN after surgical treatment of slipped capital femoral epiphysis.