When Jordan Magaña was 10 years old and his left hip started hurting before bed, his mother, Julia, feared there was a problem. Julia Magaña is an emergency medicine physician at UC Davis Medical Center and noticed her son swinging his leg out when he walked.
Because there was no trauma, she suspected slipped capital femoral epiphysis, or SCFE, the most common hip disorder in adolescents. SCFE occurs when the ball at the top of the thighbone (femur) slips backward off the neck of the bone through the growth plate.
Hard to see on an X-ray and often misdiagnosed, the care team at UC Davis Health used their collective expertise to quickly diagnose and immediately treat Jordan. Pediatric orthopaedic surgeon Amanda Whitaker did the hip surgery using a new device that extends as the child grows, helping to minimize the risk of a leg length discrepancy. Jordan was among the first patients at UC Davis Children’s Hospital treated with this implant.
After a few months of recovery, Jordan was back on his feet. Now 12 years old, he is pain free and able to do everything he loves… including tricks on his pogo stick!
