The purpose of the present study was to review the clinical and radiological outcome of young adult individuals who had Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD) during child age. After a mean follow-up of 18.7 +/- 6.2 years, 25 young adults with various morphological deformity grades were assessed clinically and radiologically. Deterioration of hip joint function and onset of pain were found to manifest early in the intermediate follow-up of LCPD and to correlate with the residual hip deformity.