NEW YORK (Reuters) -- By allowing early conservative treatment, ultrasound screening for abnormal hip development in the first six weeks of life can reduce the need for surgery, according to a report published in The Lancet.

Dr. Rudiger von Kries, from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, and colleagues analyzed national data to determine the rate of first hip operation since an early screening program was instituted in Germany in 1996.

Between 1997 and 2002, about 90 percent of all children were screened for abnormal hip development (dysplasia) with ultrasound, the researchers note. In the first year after the program was introduced, 147 children required surgery for hip dysplasia. The number of children requiring surgery never exceeded 105 in the next four years.

A total of 535 first hip operations were recorded during the study period. The most common procedure, representing 66 percent of cases, was hip realignment without incision, followed by procedures involving bone incision, and realignment requiring an open surgical procedure.

Fifty-five percent of operative cases were diagnosed using screening ultrasound as recommended, 13 percent were screened early but had normal findings, 14 percent were screened late, and 18 percent were not screened at all.

"Although the German ultrasound screening program seems effective in reducing the rate of operative procedures, further improvements are needed with respect to timely participation and doctor’s assessment of ultrasound imaging," the researchers note.