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Had Buckle Stick Fracture Of The Distal Phalanx. Put In A Cast. How Long Should The Cast Remain?

Posted on Mon, 29 Apr 2013

Question: My 16 year old son had his thumb hit by a baseball while batting. The xray showed a buckle/green stick fracture of the distal phalanx (sp?). The thumb nail is intact with a little purple at the very end He was put in a cast and it's been two weeks, the PA said it needed to remain in the cast for four weeks but from what I've been told by other parents and some online searches, this may be a little long. The cast seemed like a little overkill as well. He would like to remove the cast so his wrist doesn't stiffen and begin to play again. What do you think?

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ishfaq Habib (35 minutes later)

Hi
Welcome to XXXXXXX

Your son seems to be very used to frequent fractures. The cast actually immobilizes and stabilize the bone at its proper position until the healing occurs. The healing time for a bone is from a month to two months and for that much time the cast is applied.

The healing is much faster in children however it is a bit slower in older people. Thus four to six weeks time is enough for such age to heal the bone however the complete healing and bone formation occurs withing 2-3 months. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the cast for another 2-3 weeks and before removing the cast, have an x-ray of the thumb to assess the bone.

If you still have some query, feel free to ask

Thanks
Regards

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar