Orthopaedics
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At MeritCare, we understand that children are not just little adults. Because their bodies are still developing, the orthopaedic problems they face differ significantly from those found in adults. For example:
- Children's bones are more fibrous, frequently causing bending-type fractures rather than the snapping-type fractures common among adults.
- Children have growth plates at the ends of their bones, so the information conveyed in X-rays of their bones may not be as clear-cut as it is in X-rays of adult bones.
Such differences make it difficult to diagnose broken bones in children, particularly in the elbow, unless the bone is obviously displaced. These differences can also lead to a number of other orthopaedic conditions not commonly found in adults.
Services
Besides treating broken bones, MeritCare provides care for children with a wide range of conditions, injuries and diseases of the bones, joints and muscles, including:
- Cerebral palsy
- Spina bifida
- Pediatric arthritis
- Gait disorders
- Scoliosis
- Bone dysplasias (including dwarfism)
- Bone tumors
- Muscular dystrophy and its orthopaedic manifestations
- Deformities of the hip, knee, foot, shoulder, elbow and hand
- Developmental and congenital hip dislocations
- Leg-length discrepancy and leg lengthening