Spreng....whaaa???

So we had our appointment with the Pediatric Orthopedic Doctor today about Gavin's shoulder. It has been abnormally elevated with a noticeable lump. His range of motion is slightly limited and he favors the other arm. I did what I always cringe when my patients tell me they did it: I Googled it. Most of the results were about broken collarbones but I kinda dismissed that immediately. He never seemed to be in any pain or completely cease using it, so I wasn't buying that. I finally came across a not so well known congenital deformity called Sprengel's Deformity:

"Sprengel's deformity (also known as High scapula or Congenital high scapula) is a rare congenital skeletal abnormality where a person has one shoulder blade that sits higher on the back than the other. The deformity is due to a failure in early fetal development where the shoulder fails to descend properly from the neck to its final position. The deformity is commonly associated with other conditions, most notably Klippel-Feil syndrome, congenital scoliosisincluding cervical scoliosis, fused ribs, the presence of an omovertebral bone and spina bifida. The left shoulder is the most commonly affected shoulder but the condition can be bilateral, meaning that both shoulders are affected. About 75% of all observed cases are girls. Treatment includes surgery in early childhood and physical therapy."

We took him to our Pediatrician, who seemed really convinced it was an old fracture that had healed incorrectly and dismissed my suggestion that it had similar qualities of Sprengel's. I know we medical people can be very know-it-all when it comes to self or familial diagnosis but I'm also a mother and feel I would know if my child broke a bone....after a negative X-ray, he finally made the referral to the pediatric Orthopedic Doctor.

Soooooo.....basically the orthopedic doctor confirmed the diagnosis but made us feel better when his feeling was it was not a severe case. In those severe cases, children have extremely limited mobility and their necks can be fused as well, which requires surgery. Phew....it's a very serious procedure with a huge scar. The entire scapula has to be disconnected from the surrounding tissue, muscles, nerves.... There is a slight concern that especially during growth spurts and adolescence, when the majority of growth happens, it can worsen and potentially require surgery. Until then, it's PT and annual visits to check progress.

 I don't know how people deal with ill children...even these little scares make me realize how fortunate we are to have generally healthy children! Thank God for answering our prayers that it was nothing serious!