My little boy is getting his cast off tommorrow morning... what is next?

Question

Benjamin is three years old. He fell and got a spiral fracture on his tibia (lower leg bone). The doctor (who is not the friendliest lady ever) put a cast from his toes to halfway up his thigh. I talked her into a gortex waterproof cast.

Tommorrow the cast will be removed. She said that she will put a shorter cast on- coming to below his knee. Does that mean maybe a walking cast?

Yes- I know that I will find out tommorrow, so dont bother telling me that. Yes, I know I should ask the doctor, so dont tell me that either. You will just look stupid like you didnt read the question if you say that!

Oh- she said it would be on 4-6 weeks. It has been almost 3 1/2 already. He broke it June 21.

Answer 1

My son, now 6, was born with something similar to a "club foot."  He had to be casted from birth till the time he was 1 year old.  After that, he was placed in a brace.  He did undergo a corrective surgery (tendon release) as well.

While our situations are somewhat different, I imagine that the process may be similar.  The whole idea is to stabilize, allow healing, and assist the development of the area as normally as possible.

My son was taken from a longer cast to a shorter one (walking cast) as well.  Your son will slowly be weaned out of these until he will ambulate unassisted.  This process has to be left us to the doctor's discretion.  It can be a frustrating time for the child (and parent as well).  There may be some slight deformity thereafter.

It's unfortunate that you have a doctor with less than desirable bedside manner.  I'm sorry for that.  Hang in there.  All will be well.  Best of luck!

Answer 2

They will probably xray his leg first to make sure it is healing properly before putting a second cast on.  The type of cast will probably depend on the results of the xray.  My son was older when he broke his leg but I know we had several casts over the course of time it took it to heal.  You want him to have the walking cast so you don't have to carry him but because it was a spiral fracture the doctor may want to wait until it is more healed before having him put weight on it. Talk to the cast technician or physicians assistant if you don't get all your answers from the unfriendly doctor.

Answer 3

It might be a walking cast, but I wouldn't put all of my hopes into it, because it probably won't be.

Don't worry, you'll get through it.

Answer 4

He's gonna be ok. I broke my leg in January, and I'm still in a cast from my toes to my thigh. I should be getting a short cast soon (hopefully). I can put a little weight on my leg now, but I still need to use crutches. He may get a walking cast, but all will become clear when it's re x-rayed.

Good luck!

Answer 5

when i broke mine, it was on for 6 weeks.  i had the long cast for 4 and then the shorter one for 2.  they told me i could really do without the shorter one, because the bone was healed enough to walk on and such, but if i tripped or (being a 14 year old boy at the time) played foot ball or soemthing it would likely break again.