My DS Broke His Arm...

[elmjimmlm]

Today my DS was at a friends house and they were playing and he broke his arm in two places...My complaint is why do ERs not cast an arm themselves? I was told that they do not do that there that I will have to wait until MONDAY and call for an appt. with a doctor...I asked if it was possible to go to another ER and have it done and they said that no hospital around does...MY son has to wait 3 days to get one put on...Why????????? I am just so frustrated with the whole thing...

[TiggeRia]

Not casting in an ER is common practice and is due to a couple of reasons. The main one being that for several days after an injury/break there is an increase in swelling. If you have a cast on (which has no give to it) and your arm begins to swell there is only so much space between your skin and the cast (not a lot). Once the swelling reaches it's limit it can do a lot of damage like compartment syndrome or cutting off the blood supply which leads to permanent damage. No ER I know of will cast a stable fracture so soon after an injury--you have to wait several days for the swelling to subside. If a fracture is unstable, then an orthopedic will be called in same day to take care of it. Most fractures do not fall under that category, though.

Secondly, ER doctors may know a variety of different aspects of medicine, but they are not specialize orthopedic doctors. It is best to have casting done by an ortho-that is their specialty, after all.

There is no harm in leaving a broken arm in a regular splint for several days until the orthopedic can see him. Just make sure he rests, keeps it elevated above the level of his heart, and apply ice 20-30 minutes several times a day. That will help him to feel better.

Good luck with it-and don't worry, it will be ok!

[kakn7294]

I'm sorry! I've been in your shoes! It's extremely common that they don't cast fractures and "breaks" right away. My DD broke her arm in 2 places 2 yrs ago and it was bad enough that the orthopod was called in immediately and she had surgery within 12 hrs. Even with that, she was only splinted for most of her recovery and was only offically casted for about 2 weeks although that wasn't placed on until over a week after the surgery. We are eternally grateful to our orthopod for his care - her arm is as good as new except for the large scar.

for you and your son!