After your child's pin placement: When to call
Call 911 anytime you think your child may need emergency care. For example, call if:
- Your child passes out (loses consciousness).
- Your child has chest pain, is short of breath, or coughs up blood.
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
- Your child has symptoms of infection, such as:
- Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness.
- Red streaks leading from any incision or pin site.
- Pus draining from any incision or pin site.
- A fever.
- Your child has tingling, weakness, or numbness around the pin area.
- Your child's splint, if they have one, feels too tight.
- Your child has signs of a blood clot in the leg (called a deep vein thrombosis), such as:
- Pain in the calf, back of the knee, thigh, or groin.
- Swelling in the leg or groin.
- A color change on the leg or groin. The skin may be reddish or purplish, depending on your child's usual skin color.
Watch closely for changes in your child's health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
- Your child has new or increased pain.
- You notice that the pin or any part of the fixator seems loose or out of place.
- There is bleeding around a pin site that won't stop.
- Your child also has a splint, and there's drainage or a bad smell coming from it.