Question
my son was 7.5 years old when he fell off his bike and fractured his femur at the top of the bone near his hip.he was surgically pinned and placed in a spica cast for ten weeks.he went through some very unaggressive pt for the next 4 or 5 months and has been doing monthly follow ups with his surgeon.on his last visit he remarked he has seemed to regress and cited concerns of the on set of LGMD.his major reasoning being a "waddle" like gait and the opinion that he should be running,playing ball,and walking with no discernable limp at 6 months out.is it possible that he could simply be taking longer to heal then 6 months or do you feel this is as he says a  longer then needed recoup time.we have heard that recoup times of 2 years are not unheard of.
thank you in advance for your time  and advice.

Answer
Mike

If I were you, and your son has not been seen by a pediatric orthopedist, you need to have him evaluated by one.  Children are not little adults and continue to grow until the age of 18 or so and must be treated differently than adults.  I am not saying that your son did not get good treatment, I am saying that he needs to be followed by someone who specializes in pediatric orthopedics.

If you don't have someone who specializes in that area, find the largest teaching hospital in your area, and gather your son's physical therapy records, X-ray's, and surgical records and get a referral to a teaching hospital.  Even better, would be, a hospital that specializes in special surgery, such as The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.  There is a Dr. Doug Padgett who works there that is supposed to be very good.

I can't say for sure if the healing time of 6 months is too short, it depends on the injury and especially on your son and the therapy he gets.  If he is limping, something is not right.  Ask if the leg lengths are equal.  Sometimes pinning the hip can result in a difference of leg length that could cause the limping and some residual pain for your son.

But the main thing is not to let this thing sit, get a second opinion, from a specialist in pediatrics immediately.

Sharon Davis