Boy's broken leg not put in a cast (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Boy's broken leg not put in a cast

Ref. 29922-26The parents of a toddler who fractured his leg four days ago say they are disgusted their son's break was not put in a cast.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Vinnie Adams, who has a severe form of osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bones fractured the bone on Good Friday.

An X-ray showed the fracture on Vinnie's left femur, or thigh bone, but his parents, Vicky and Jerry Adams, were told to go home and wait to see their consultant after the Easter holiday.

They were not due to see him until today.

Jerry said they have hardly been able to move Vinnie because the pain in his leg is too intense, and have been feeding him regular doses of morphine to ease his suffering.

Jerry, of Freshbrook, said: "I'm disgusted that our son has had to go through four days of hell. A cast would have made it a bit more bearable for him.

"We have been told that we have to wait and see our usual consultant who works normal hours. But that means Vinnie has had to wait days in pain. We know he needs a cast the X-ray has shown us that. But the hospital said the type of cast he needs is too specialised and he will have to wait to see his usual consultant.

"Vinnie has fibre glass casts as they are lighter, and yes it can be tricky to put it on, but anyone who can put a normal cast on should be able to help Vinnie too."

Osteogenesis imperfecta means bones are prone to breaking easily and often. Vinnie has type III, the severest, non-lethal form.

Vinnie's twin brother, Ivor, also had osteogenesis imperfecta and died at just one day old due to a heart condition.

Vinnie has had about 30 breaks and fractures since he was born in September 2001, and even cracked his femur when he was in the womb.

His right leg had weakened to such an extent after numerous breaks that a metal rod was inserted in December in a bid to protect it against further damage.

Jerry said: "At first we wanted to wrap him up in cotton wool but there was no point treating him like that as his bones break even if he stretches a leg.

"When he broke his leg on Friday all he did was gently slip over. He screams out in pain, but at the same time he doesn't seem to let it get him down.

"As he gets older his bones should get a bit stronger but he isn't expected to grow to more than about four feet tall."

Chris Birdsall, spokesman for the Great Western Hospital, said while he could not discuss individual cases, specialist plastering staff were on duty over the Bank Holiday weekend.

He added: "If an injury was so specialised it needed treatment that we could not provide at GWH we would have transferred them to the nearest centre where they could have received appropriate treatment."

What causes brittle bones

Brittle bones is not one condition, but a group of several hundred all caused by abnormalities in the structure of the protein component of bone know as collagen.

These abnormalities are caused by defects in the genes that tell the cells how to make collagen.

It affects about one in 10,000.

Osteogenesis imperfecta is not caused by a lack of calcium.

In some cases, mostly milder ones, the disorder passes from one generation to another. In most severe cases there are no warning signs in either parent.

Alex Emery

www.brittlebone.org