Parents of children whose hips were operated on unnecessarily fear that lasting damage has been done to them, Sinn Féin has claimed. 

The Department of Health has ordered a probe into hip dysplasia operations on children which were not medically necessary. 

The operation is carried out when the ball and socket joint of a child's hip are not properly in place.

It is feared that hundreds of children were operated on - despite not needing the procedures - and Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane said his party has been inundated with emails from worried parents. 

He added that one clinician has also got in touch to raise concerns that lasting damage might have been done to some of the children. 

“Because, to be quite frank about it, this procedure cuts into the bone of a child,” Deputy Cullinane told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“So, if you have a procedure that is difficult, which cuts into the bone of a child, then obviously it can cause lasting damage.” 

Deputy Cullinane added that some parents have said their child has suffered from complications after the procedure. 

“They’re dealing with complications for their children and wondering if it is because of the procedure that was carried out unnecessarily?” he said 

The Waterford TD added that other parents of children who did not have the procedure have also been in touch. 

“We were contacted by dozens of parents over the number of weeks and months when this story first broke,” he said. 

“We know for a fact that many of those parents are the parents of children who sought a second opinion and who actually did not have the osteotomies carried out on their children. 

“When they got a second opinion, they were told by private consultants in this State - but also sometimes outside of the State - that their children did not have the condition at all.” 

Review

Deputy Cullinane described this as a “very serious red flag” and said parents are “worried sick”. 

“We know there are other reviews ongoing into CHI and the clinical practice of at least one consultant - which is still ongoing,” he said. 

“We had the HIQA report into the use of non medical springs published a number of weeks ago. 

“So, we have all of these scandals in the background and then we have this issue, which parents simply don’t have the answers to. 

“And if parents don’t have answers, it leads to a breakdown in trust and I think that’s the worst place we can find ourselves in relation to children’s healthcare.” 

Deputy Cullinane said the Government needs to be transparent with the families of impacted children. 

“They have to be clear and upfront as best they can with the information to reassure parents in the first instance,” he said. 

“But also, to get to a point where this audit can be not just given to the Minister but also published and then very clear actions taken.” 

A spokesperson for Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill told Newstalk that she will not comment until she receives the full report into the issue. 

They added that she is happy to have a full debate in Dáil Éireann when the report is issued.

Main image: Surgerical instruments. Picture by: Alamy.com.