This defect is more severe than type A deformities because it will not heal spontaneously and, at skeletal maturity, the proximal femur (lower part near the knee) will not connect with the femoral head. Type C — The entire top half of the femur bone is absent, including the trochanters (the part of the bone in which muscles are attached to the upper thigh), and the femoral head. In type C deformities, the proximal femur is not connected to the hip in any way. In fact, many children with type C deformities also have acetabular dysplasia, a condition in which the acetabulum (hip socket) is shallow, abnormally shaped, and oriented outward. Type D — This is the most severe form of proximal femoral focal deficiency, in which most of the femur bone is absent and only a small irregular piece of bone above the distal femoral epiphysis (the end of the femur bone at the knee) is present. In the pelvis, no acetabulum (hip socket) is present; instead the pelvic wall is flat on the affected side. Treatment Depending on the severity of the deformities, the treatment may include the amputation of the foot or part of the leg, lengthening of the femur, extension prosthesis, or custom shoe lifts. Amputation usually requires the use of prosthesis. Another alternative is a rotationplasty procedure, also known as Van Ness surgery. In this situation the foot and ankle are surgically removed, then attached to the femur. This creates a functional "knee joint". This allows the patient to be fit with a below knee prosthesis vs a traditional above knee prosthesis. In less severe cases, the use of an Ilizarov apparatus can be successful in conjunction with hip and knee surgeries (depending on the status of the femoral head/kneecap) to extend the femur length to normal ranges. This method of treatment can be problematic in that the Ilizarov might need to be applied both during early childhood (to keep the femur from being extremely short at the onset of growth) and after puberty (to match leg lengths after growth has ended). The clear benefit of this approach, however, is that no prosthetics are needed and at the conclusion of surgical procedures the patient will not be biologically or anatomically different from a person born without PFFD. In some cases the patient may not request treatment and instead elect to use a wheelchair or other