FAQs

Our son is being evaluated in the ER for a broken leg -- snapped the middle of the thigh bone in two. He's in kindergarten half-days. Will this keep him from going to school? We both work and don't have time off for an extended period of time. I'm pretty worried about how we are going to manage. Young children with a fractured femur (thigh bone) can be treated in a number of different ways. Most involve casting of some sort. To prevent movement and allow the bone to heal, a spica cast is used mo...

We just got a call from the soccer camp where our 8 year-old twin girls are this week. One of the girls managed to fall out of the top bunk and broke the middle section of both bones in her arm. We are too far away to get there before they treat her. They want us to fax our signatures in case surgery is required. How is it decided whether or not surgery is needed? It sounds like your child has a forearm shaft fracture or as you described it: a break in the middle of the two long bones in the for...

My granddaughter fell down the stairs and broke her elbow. They said it was a nondiplaced lateral condylar fracture (I wrote it down so I could ask you about it). They put her in a cast. Now what happens? The goal of all treatment for this type of elbow fracture is to restore joint alignment as close to normal as possible. Bone fractures in children near a joint (the elbow in this case) raise additional concerns because of the potential to affect the growth plate and thereby stunt growth.If the ...

While we were on vacation, my 11-year-old stepdaughter fell and broke her leg. The surgeon who saw her put a cast on the leg but told us to get to a hospital right away if there are any signs of problems. Now we are on the road heading home and she's complaining "it hurts, it hurts" I don't know what to do. Stop or press one? We are still six to eight hours away from home. Situations like this one can be difficult to judge. Some of the decision may depend on your daughter's temperament (prone to...

My parents are at the hospital with my younger sister who twisted her ankle while running. She's 11-years-old but still kind of clumsy. They called and said she might have to have surgery. Why would you have to have surgery for an ankle sprain? Any young child with what seems like an "ankle sprain" must be checked for a bone fracture (break). The skeletally immature ankle (bone growth isn't complete yet) is more cartilage, soft tissue, and ligament than bone. The physeal (growth) plate in child...

I have a child with slipped capital femoral epiphysis. I confess I've taken to searching the web for anything I can find about this condition. I saw a report out of Japan that there is a test called Dreymann's that we can do as parents to check for problems after surgery. What can you tell me about this? Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) is a condition in which the growth center of the hip (the capital femoral epiphysis) actually slips backwards on the top of the femur (the thighbone). Fo...

I have a knee cap that keeps flipping out to the side. My parents want me to wait until I'm an adult to have any surgery so my growth won't be stunted. My coach doesn't say as much but I think he wants me to get it fixed. What should I do? The initial treatment for a patellar problem begins by decreasing the inflammation in the knee. If you haven't already tried rest and anti-inflammatory medications, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, this would be the first step. Conservative care of this type is e...

Have you ever heard of a contraption called a Taylor frame? It's used to treat severely deformed club feet. Our adult children are Peace Corps workers coming back to the U.S. with an 11-year-old child who is in these contraptions. We just wanted to be prepared to meet this child by knowing a little more about him before our first face-to-face contact. The device you mentioned called the Taylor spatial frame is used to help correct severe foot deformities in the fastest time possible with the few...

Our 12-year-old daughter was thrown from her horse and then stepped on by the horse. She has a Torode IV pelvic fracture. We saw the X-rays so have an idea of what it looks like (very nasty). What does the Torode IV mean? Pelvic fractures in children are classified according to severity based on X-rays. Two orthopedic surgeons by the names of Torode and Zeig first introduced this method back in 1985. Since that time, it has become a standard method of determining treatment.According to this sche...

My son is 8 years old. He loves soccer and is pretty good. When is he ready to start serious team sports? Organized team sports are becoming increasingly popular on the youth sports scene. Kids are starting at earlier ages in heavy practice and competition. Some kids will even be playing on several teams of different sports at the same time. One of the determining factors on how children will do in team sports is their neuromotor development. Typically, at 6 to 7 years old, children start to hav...

I've been restricted from playing baseball (or any other sport) for the next six weeks (up to six months) because I have something called OCD. I'm not allowed to throw a ball, do any weight lifting, or even carry a heavy backpack in that hand. What are my chances that this will work? And what if it doesn't? Young gymnasts and overhand athletes, particularly baseball pitchers and racket-sport players, are prone to a condition called osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). Although the exact cause remain...

Have you ever heard of scoliosis in a baby? Our son isn't even five months old yet, and they are diagnosing him with scoliosis of unknown cause. We don't know anyone on either side of our families who have had this. We don't know what to make of it. Idiopathic scoliosis is a curvature of the spine with no known cause. By definition, the curve is at least 20 degrees. Boys are affected more often than girls and a left-sided curve is the rule rather than the exception. It might be said that most ch...