Hip Spica Cast

Hi S.,

I am so sorry to hear that your son was injured. My son, who just turned 13 last week, was in a spica cast when he was 3 due to a femur break. To be honest with you, its not much fun, but, the younger the child, the easier. They adapt so well when they are little. My son handled much better than I though he would (and better than I did!). My advice is regarding diapers. This is a challenge. Be sure to tuck the diaper inside the cast, so the inside of the cast doesn't get wet. You may have to use some additional tape to keep it in place. If it does get wet inside, use cornstarch to dry it and keep it from developing an odor, and also to help protect his sensitive skin. Also, keep an eye on his skin around the edges of the cast. It can rub on his skin and make it raw. We used to put a small towel or something in between to protect his skin. He will likely limp for quite some time after he gets it off, and be unsteady on his feet for a while. His broken leg may be a little shorter than the other due to the way the set the bone in small children. This will grow out over time.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me. I know what a stressful time this is. Best of luck to you and your little one.

P.

I feel for you. My son, at 15 months had to have one after I fell down the stairs with him (total freak accident). I'm guessing your son is still wearing diapers so here is what I did.

When you change him, use the normal size diaper on him & tuck everythin into the cast as much as possible in front and in the back. Then, use like a size 6 diaper on the outside over the other diaper. If you can, keep a onsie on him to keep him from playing with the extra diaper. Wipe slightly around under the edge of the cast when you change him and make sure he isn't dressed too warmly. We actually made it almost 3 weeks doing this without one issue with urine in the cast. I think I slacked off a little during the end and one diaper got too full. The doctor was impressed though, his cast never smelled until they took it off.

They will probably tell you not to lift him by the cross bar, for changing it's fine. I wouldn't dangle him from it though:>

As for in the car, we didn't go very many places with him in the cast because he wouldn't fit in his carseat. I did go to church with him & sat in the back of our van holding him. The doctor gave us a note stating that we had no choice really as a seat for rent would have taken us longer to get than he was going to have the cast. I don't know how long your little one has to have his on, we were lucky it was a clean straight break and our son had his on (by our choice) 3 short weeks. It could have come off at 2 weeks, but we chose the extra week because we didn't want to have to have a new on put on if he wasn't healing right or if he hadn't healed enough and then rebroke it on his own.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

K.
www.shop4miracles.com

My son broke his femur when he was 2 also and had a hip spica. It is a very big and awkward cast. I am so sorry that he has to have one. I suggest getting a bean bag so you will be able to prop him up to sit. Get him some movies because he is going to be pretty immobile (though my son learned to army crawl with it after a few weeks. Plan on reteaching him to walk again because the muscles are weak when it first comes off. His cast had a little portion were you could stick a diaper in make sure you really are consious of changing and keep that clean. Good luck to you I know what it is like, in a positive note my son is 6 1/2 now and you would never even know he went through that.

Hello S., I'm so sorry to hear about your son, this will be a very hard time for your entire family. My son was 7 when he spent 5 weeks is a hip spica cast, then they had to refracture the femur in surgery because it was not healing correctly. He then spent a month in traction in the hospital, then back into another cast. When they took him out of his second cast, his leg still was not completly healed, but he had atraphied(sp) so much that we had no choice. He went to PT for about 6 months to learn to walk again. A walker at first, then graduated to crutches. The age of your son will make it easier on you, because the casts are very heavy. I would drag him around the house on a blanket, so that I didn't have to carry him as often. The bathroom problem will be different also. I can't give you advise on using a diaper. The doc will cut a "window" out of the cast where his privates are. We used a urinal and a bed pan. Does your son have control yet of his bladder and stools? Keep his skin very clean and lubricated. Vasaline is good, but we also got a special ointment for bed riden patients. The cast gets VERY hot inside, so the warm weather will be an issue for your son. It will be important to keep him out of the sun and heat. The cast cannot get wet. But the sweat inside starts to stink. Not much that can be done for that part of things. I did take a hair dryer on the cool setting and blow it inside of the cast to dry it when it got really damp. You don't want it to stay that way, because he can get a yeast infection on the skin under the cast. If you notice any cracks begin in the cast, just put duck tape on it until you see the doc again. Which will be often. At least you don't have to deal with the school issue, that is something to be thankful for. My e-mail is ____@____.com keep in touch with any questions you may have. Once you contact me by e-mail, I'll share my phone # with you so that you can keep in touch. Remember that he is still a little boy who needs to play and be active. This is the most important advice that I can share with you. He will be very frustrated, and in alot of pain the first few days. Muscle spasams can hurt as much as the break itself. My son was also my youngest and my two older daughters became jeolous of all of the attention that the "baby" got, and how little time I had left to spend with them. If you can, please try to have someone help you out, so that you can spend one on one with the other two. It will make a hugh difference for the entire family. My kids still have issues over that time in our lives. But my husband totally checked out of our lives at that time, because he "couldn't deal with it". Your marriage will need extra attention also. If you can get the insurance company to provide nursing assistance, that will help alot. I didn't know that I could do that for the first cast, but the social worker at the hospital helped me set it up when my son went home for with the second one. Please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. S.