Serious health question about my almost 2 year old....?

Question

A week and a half ago, my daughter started limping a little bit. By that next morning, he knee was swollen and she was not walking on her right leg at all. We went to the ER where they did X-rays that revealed nothing. They did blood work that had normal white blood counts. We went to an orthopedic doctor last week to request an MRI on her, but he said it was unneccessary and told us to come back in a week. We went back yesterday and her knee is still swollen and she is still limping, if she even walks. She has reverted back to crawling some of the time. The orthopedic doctor re did the X-rays, which still reveal nothing. We had the blood work redone as well, we are waiting to hear back from that. The doctor scheduled a bone scan for her on Friday. My concern is that the doctor does not know what is wrong with her. I don't know why he won't do an MRI just to make sure that there is nothing torn or pulled in her knee. Please give me some advice or help or whatever. :)

Answer 1

Putting a 2 year old in an MRI isn't an easy task, and may not give the doctor any new information. MRI scanners are very loud, and the child has to go about 6 feet into a narrow tunnel.

I used to anesthetize children for these procedures, and it is quite risky because we cannot have most of our equipment there. It's tough to monitor a child that you cannot see, and the drugs that keep them still take away the ability to breathe, so monitoring is quite important. As an anesthesiologist, I found it very stressful. We had special MRI-safe equipment, but there was so much interference that I was nervous.

If your child moves during the test, it is useless. sometimes, it takes half an hour or more to get the images they need.

If you are a radiologist and can tell the orthopedic surgeon what an MRI can offer in terms of diagnostic usefulness, maybe he'll listen to you. Otherwise, let him do his job.

Your child may have an infected joint, or it could be juvenile arthritis. The treatments for those conditions are very different, and if you treat for one and she has the other, the condition could worsen.

You are always free to get a second opinion, and insurance usually covers that. Ask questions, and try to find out what the doctors are trying to rule out and rule in with the various tests that they do.

Best of luck to you and your daughter. Unfortunately, sometimes diagnoses are hard to make. You may want to find an orthopedist that specializes in treating children. (Try a teaching hospital)

Answer 2

Keep your appointment to get the bone scan. It is hard to tell what the orthopedic surgeon is thinking. The best thing for you to do is to ask lots of questions if the doctor is not telling you what is going on.

What do you think the problem is?
How serious is it that my child has stopped walking and has reverted to crawling?
Is there a problem that the current tests that have been done might not be able to detect?

There are very few doctors out there that would be able to know right away what the problem is. The only question is are they being aggressive enough in finding out what the problem is (and yes, you can be too aggressive some times.)

I'm sorry, but there is no good answer I can give you. If you are still worried, it wouldn't be inappropriate for you to get a second opinion.

Answer 3

If her knee is swollen and is warm or hot to touch, there could be a muscle injury or joint inflammation. They won't do MRI just because we ask them to do it and it is good since your daughter is too young to be put in the MRI tunnel. They are checking out for an infection and or rheumatism etc. Let the doctor do his / her job. In the meantime, if you don't mind a little alternative medicine, rub some Rescue Remedy Cream or spray on her knee. Give her lot of love. Give her my hugs.

Answer 4

You are right, the doctor doesn't know what is wrong with her, but he is trying to find out with the least invasive, painful. scary, or even expensive procedures...I'm not familiar with MRI with 2 yr olds, but adults receive IV dye, and have to lay still on an enclosed table during the test, for about 15 minutes...It's natural to worry, but ask the doctor what he thinks it might or could be, the good and the bad, and discuss his plan for figuring this out.

Answer 5

i wouldn't be going to an orthopedic surgeon. just because her knee is swollen, what makes that an orthopedic problem, especially now that you know the x-ray is normal? i'd bet she has cellulitis which is a skin infection and needs to be treated with antibiotics. you child's pediatrician would be the best person to help you with that.

Answer 6

I would go to another doctor who will do an MRI. I would go to a doctor would would do anything to find out what was wrong.
A doctor's office told me to wait once when my son had a cold a few days later I brought him in and he had pneumonia (sp). Trust yourself you know your child better than the doctors!! I hope everyhting turns out OK.

Answer 7

You need to get a second opinion! For some reason certain doctors can't admit failure and they wait until the condition worsens before they feel justified sending you to a specialist. Insurance probably is the main reason for this! Go and get a 2nd opinion ASAP.

Answer 8

You doctor may be loathe do to an MRI because of her age. MRIs require perfect stillness, so a patient so young would need to be sedated.

Answer 9

a friend of mines son had the same thing happen to him. she took him to the dr they didnt seem to know what was going on but they decided to put him on high dose of antibiotic..it healed and swelling went down. ask the drs to try that. they had did cbc on him, mri on him, revelaed nothing. just lots of money

Answer 10

keep going to different doctors until someone figuires out what is wrong with her. doctors don't know everything and if you think something is wrong, then something is wrong. Demand they do an mri. If you push it they will eventually comply. good luck to you and your daughter.