Re: Re: Does this look tight to YOU?

January 17, 2008

Darrell,

For insurance and hospital forms, they refer to them as Risser casts.

However, we like to refer to it as a Mehta-style cast (since she's the

originator of this design).

The cut-outs are all different because the curves are all different.

Even Jack has had two different types of shoulder straps - I think

just because they do whatever in the OR works. He has a very large

curve (seventy degrees on diagnosis) with significant rotation of the

spine - pushing his ribs out on one side and hollowing his back out on

the other side. Miss Mehta did his first cast and the others have

looked very similar, but this one does not have the windowpane in the

back.

Now as for the appearance of his cast, in Chicago has developed a

way of petaling that involves cutting the t-shirt underneath, padding

the edge of the fiberglass with a cotton padding, and then taping it

to the front. She then recommends covering it in duct tape. She's

very experienced in casting and went to school for it (I believe in

Massachusetts) and we just adore her. All of Jack's casts have come

back looking really clean she said, in comparison to other castings

she's worked with (not necessarily spine) and with the tee shirt being

attached to the cast itself, it allows us to see his body and clean

him more thoroughly when we give him a sponge bath.

I really like this method of " petaling " best.

Oh - and last month he had a tummy bug that caused him to have some

explosive/leaking diapers. I was able to un-tape the back, stretch

the tee shirt down, cut off the lowest part of the tee shirt, and tape

it back on. (And excuse the Nemo stickers - he had some scrapbooking

stickers all over his cast in the early days, but they've come off

since and he just has pearl and the blowfish left)

Sandi

January 17, 2008

Dr. Sturm just stopped using them. I don't really know why, for sure.

He did it on his first cast post-Mehta, then didn't put one on this

cast at all.

Antibacterial shirts sound awesome!

S

January 17, 2008

told me they stopped petalling because they would come off to

quickly (which they always did on our casts). She cuts the shirt and

then puts a ton of cotton around the edge of the cast and then pulls the

shirt over the cotton and tapes it onto the cast with a tape that holds.

It is holding up much better for us than the petals ever did.

________________________________

From: infantile_scoliosis