Fracture Clinic

Few kids grow up without breaking a bone. Prompt, expert care of fractures and orthopaedic injuries, especially those involving a bone’s growth plate, helps ensure that childhood misadventures don’t create problems into adulthood. When an injury happens, our Fracture Clinic offers quick access to specialized care.

We work to evaluate and treat every child in a timely window. Our orthopaedic specialists are familiar with a child’s unique build and know precisely the right treatments to minimize future problems.

Our clinic’s four-bed casting room is the ideal spot for children who need a cast. Movies, games and books help distract from the injury, and child life specialists put children at ease by going through the casting process with a doll’s arm first. Patients then have their pick of bright cast colors and glitter for a special touch. When it’s time to remove a cast, our technicians make children feel comfortable by demonstrating the dull saw on their own hands and providing headphones to cover up the saw’s sound.

Other procedures done at our Fracture Clinic include pin removal, suture and staple removal, bone setting and realignment, and splinting.

To make an appointment at our Fracture Clinic or ask follow-up questions about your child’s care, please call (888) 770-2462 and press 2 for specialty care clinics. Referral and authorization from your child’s primary doctor is usually required. We will provide timely follow-up and care coordination with your child’s doctor.

When a traumatic orthopaedic injury occurs, care often begins in our pediatric-dedicated emergency department. Our orthopaedic surgeons are always on call and can evaluate your child with an expertise not found at adult emergency departments. Should your child need an MRI, CT scan or other testing, these services are located within steps of the emergency department for the convenience of our families. Learn more about our emergency department and trauma center.

When a child takes a fall, they may impact their growth plate. What is a growth plate? “It’s a [developing] area of the long bone, like the femur or tibia that contributes to the length of your body,” says Dr. Francois Lalonde. Located close to a joint, including the hip, knee or ankle, the growth plate  remains open until age 15 for girls and age 17 for boys. “Luckily, most growth plate injuries don’t cause any damage to the growth of the bone,” says Dr. Lalonde. “Most kids will get their motion back around the joint on their own.” Read more about preventing growth plate injuries in this health feature at choc.org/health.