Do you need treatment for my baby's hip dimples?
Feb 25, 2025
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Most of the hip dimples (sacral dimples), found in about 5% of newborns, are simple skin depressions without any problems, but in rare cases, they may be related to neurological diseases such as spinal dysplasia. The problem is that if it is not detected early, it can lead to serious symptoms such as decreased lower limb development, sensory abnormalities, and urination and defecation disorders.
Hip dimples that appear in newborns mean that the skin around the baby's hip bone is recessed like a dimple. This is why it is also called a hip dimple.
Professor Kim Min-sung of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents at the Catholic University of Korea's Incheon St. Mary's Hospital said, `Newborn dimples can be seen as traces of the formation of skin and nerve tissue when the fetus develops in the uterus"The fetal nervous system is formed through a structure called a neural tube during the development process, and if this neural tube is not completely closed, deformities such as skin depression or spinal cord abnormalities may occur" he said. With the help of Professor Kim Min-sung, we summarized why neonatal hip dimples occur, in what cases hospital checkups are needed, and how and how to discriminate dimples related to spinal dysplasia.
◇Most dimples are simple skin deformation…Some are associated with spinal dysplasia
Most hip dimples are just skin deformations, but some may be accompanied by structural abnormalities in the spinal cord. In particular, if dimples are far from the anus, are deep and large, and are accompanied by hemangiomas or hairs around them, the possibility of association with spinal dysplasia increases.
Spinal cord dysplasia refers to birth defects in which the spinal cord and spine are not formed normally, which can cause various neurological problems as the nerves are pressed or pulled. There are various types of spinal dysplasia, such as spinal steatoma, spinal cord recognition, and congenital dermatophytes.
Professor Kim Min-sung said "If the dimple is accompanied by a spinal dysplasia disease, the nerve may be damaged and symptoms such as lower limb development, sensory abnormalities, urinary incontinence, and constipation may appear."However, since newborns or young infants cannot express these symptoms on their own, it is important to accurately distinguish whether dimples are simple skin depression or dangerous dimples accompanied by nervous system abnormalities" he said.
◇Simple dimple observation only…If it is related to spinal dysplasia, early examination and treatment are required
In the case of simple dimple, no test or treatment is required, and follow-up observation is sufficient. This is because there is only a concave skin and it is not a dangerous disease. However, early screening and treatment are needed in high-risk groups where dimples are associated with spinal dysplasia and are likely to develop symptoms even if they have related symptoms or do not have current symptoms.
Dangerous dimples include △ multiple dimples, large and deep, △ distant from the portal, △ changes in hemangiomas, hair, and pigments around the dimple, △ children show urination and defecation disorders, or weak leg strength △ neurological abnormalities (spinal scoliosis, foot deformity, etc.). In addition, if the △ child is frequently infected with urinary tract or has abnormal bowel movements or urination, △ anastomotic malformations or neurological disorders can also be considered high-risk groups. In this case, an imaging test is performed to check for neurological abnormalities.
However, it is easy to diagnose by ultrasound before 3 months of age, but if it is more than 3 months old, the vertebrae may be ossified and it may be difficult to diagnose by ultrasound. Since ultrasound is an easy test without sleep, ultrasound should be performed first even if it is three months old and consider spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if necessary.
If spinal dysplasia is diagnosed, surgery to reduce nerve compression and spinal cord traction is necessary early if there are related symptoms or severe spinal dysplasia. However, if there are no clinical symptoms at the time of diagnosis, but surgery is required prophylactically, the operation is decided by comprehensively considering various factors such as genetic factors, risk of nerve damage, and body type.
Professor Kim Min-sung said "Just because our healthy-born child has dimples on his hip doesn't necessarily mean that he or she needs to worry or get tested. Most of them are simple skin depressions, and they are likely to grow naturally without any problems. "However, it is difficult to judge the risk with only a few pieces of information, so you must visit a hospital and respond according to the situation after a specialist's treatment."," he said.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
