Highly Specialized Care, Easy Appointment Access, and Plenty of Stickers and Teddy Bears
Did you know that you – and your 9-year-old son who just took a serious tumble and likely has a broken or sprained wrist – can receive top-quality pediatric orthopedic care, quick– right in our cozy Wallingford, Ballard and Mercer Island offices? Drs. Franklin, Peterson, Ruhlman, Watt and Weil all provide orthopedic care for pediatric patients, from infants to adolescents.
Common Pediatric Conditions
The most common pediatric conditions our physicians see are fractures (broken bones), ACL and meniscal tears in adolescents, as well as a wide range of sports- and activity-related injuries in active kids. OSS physicians also care for children with orthopedic deformities, such as webbed digits or congenital trigger thumb; often there are simple treatment options, and if surgery is required, we pride ourselves in a child-friendly experience from start to finish.
Many of our pediatric fracture patients require casting – and we offer exciting casting options, including waterproof Goretex® casts which can even allow for swimming while your child heals. For some of our younger patients, we take special attention to support your child through the experiences of X-rays and casting – including model casting on teddy bears, and plenty of “I graduated from X-ray school!” and “I met the doctor!” stickers.
And importantly – as any parent with an injured child certainly knows – time is of the essence. For many of our patients, visiting one of the OSS neighborhood clinics offered them the best of both worlds – the highest-quality care along with easy appointment access, especially for more routine – and urgent – orthopedic issues like fractures and severe sports injuries.
“For your child with a knee injury or a wrist fracture, we are regularly able to see them right away –always by a fully-trained attending provider – and get them on the road to healing much more quickly and always with the most state-of-the-art treatments,” says Dr. Scott Ruhlman, orthopedic surgeon at OSS.
He adds: “Children require a unique approach – as a physician, I really care for both the parent and the child as we navigate through the condition together, finding appropriate treatments and solutions to what they are experiencing – whether it’s a broken bone or a birth deformity – all in a way that reflects our genuine love of working with children to help them achieve their fullest potential,” says Dr. Scott Ruhlman. “And I always notice when our clinic has been full of children that day – because our entire staff is wearing a smile.”
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