Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
Paul O’Gorman Building
Upper Maudlin Street
Bristol
BS2 8BJ

If you are worried about your child’s plaster or injury and can’t find the necessary information, please do not hesitate to contact on the following numbers:

Trauma & Orthopaedic oupatients: 0117 342 7953
Fracture clinic: 0117 342 8887
Plaster room (plaster queries only): 0117 342 7880

Welcome to the space where you and your child can learn key information about their upcoming fracture clinic appointment.

Our Aim

Our aim is to reduce anxiety for patients by providing children and their parents with all the key information. We hope that by working through the interactive parts of our website, your child will feel more comfortable during their hospital visits.

When you need to return to A&E

Plasters can be a nuisance for anyone to wear, and take some degree of getting used to. However, in some instances, you may need to bring your child back to A&E so the plaster team can replace the existing cast. If you are ever unsure, please use the contact details found on this page.

Wet Cast

It is important to keep your plaster dry at all times. Water can weaken the materials and this can prevent adequate support of the injury, which is essential for bone repair. If water has seeped under the cast onto the soft fabric beneath the hard exterior, then this can also cause an infection or mould to grow in the warm damp environment. Wet casts need replacing before the skin underneath becomes damaged.

Object in cast

Casts can get hot and sweaty and no one likes ignoring an itch, but we advise that under no circumstances should anything be put inside the cast to satisfy that itch! It can break the skin, and get stuck! In this instance it is very important to bring your child back to A&E to replace the cast and retrieve the object.

Broken cast

Any sign that the cast is breaking or has become soft in places also require the plaster to be removed or reinforced. Look out for signs of cracking, and try to prevent that by keeping the cast well looked after.

Swelling

Some swelling is normal, and not always a worry. However, if the cast is too tight this can be dangerous. There should be a visible gap between the cast and the skin.
The following set of signs may indicate the cast is too tight and that you need to bring your child to the emergency room:

• Pins and needles or numbness in the fingers or toes
• If the skin appears hot and red or pale and cold
• Inability to move fingers or toes

Encourage your child to elevate the affected limb above the level of the heart and try to encourage them to wiggle their finger/toes where possible to reduce swelling.

Severe Pain

Breaking a bone is a painful experience, and recovery will have a certain degree of associated pains and aches. However, severe pain which seems disproportionate to the injury may be a sign the cast needs removing. By stabilising the injury site, plaster casts should reduce pain for your child, so sudden severe pain is not to be expected. If the severe pain is present with the signs listed above such as pale skin, numbness or weakness with movements, then it is essential that you bring your child straight to A&E for their cast to be removed.

Contact a professional

Don’t forget, if you’re ever in doubt about whether to return to the hospital with your child, you can ring 111 for free medical advice or ring the numbers on the side of this page to speak to your local orthopaedic team.