Orthopedics

Mary Bridge Children’s Orthopedics offers a complete range of surgical and medical services for children with skeletal malformations; congenital, neuromuscular and pediatric spine conditions; and sports or trauma-related injuries.

Our child-friendly digital imaging services, physical therapy and experienced team of pediatric specialists provide your child with the most comprehensive orthopedic care available. You can expect us to listen to your concerns, answer your questions and care for your child with warmth and compassion.

With outpatient locations around the region, children receive care from the same highly skilled physicians, nurses and health professionals that make Mary Bridge Children’s a trusted name in pediatric care.

Mary Bridge Children’s is proud to be one of Washington state’s most technologically advanced surgical centers, with the region’s only children’s hospital offering Mazor Robotics Renaissance® Guidance System for corrective spinal surgery.

We provide diagnosis, evaluation and treatment, including surgical management, for a variety of orthopedic injuries and conditions:

This list is not exhaustive. Please contact us for more information about the conditions and injuries we treat.

To learn about the most up-to-date information and research about your child’s condition, please refer to the OrthoKids website for a comprehensive list of orthopedic conditions from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

How to prepare for your child’s visit or procedure

• Appointment duration: Your child’s appointment will likely be more than an hour in duration due to additional imaging and interpretation at the time of the appointment.
• Imaging: If your child has already had imaging done at another facility, if possible, please bring the images to your child’s appointment. In the event the provider determines that your child may need additional images during their appointment, your child may get an x-ray.
• Concussion: Mary Bridge Children’s Orthopedics providers do not see concussion patients.

If your child needs a cast

There are different types of casts depending on the bone that has been injured and the severity of the injury. To place a cast, we wrap a few layers of soft material around the injured area. Then we put on a hard outer layer, usually made of fiberglass, that serves as a protective covering.

When the bone has healed, we use an electric tool called a cast saw to remove the hard outer layer. The noise and vibration of the cast saw can be unnerving for some children. It is a painless process, but sometimes the vibrations of the saw can feel like a tickle. To help prepare your child for this experience, you might hold a vibrating device like an electric razor to their cast. We recommend watching these videos about cast placement and removal with your child prior to your appointment to help them feel more comfortable.

Learn more about casts.

If your child needs surgery

When you arrive at the clinic, someone at the reception desk will guide you through the admissions process. Then a member of our staff will escort your child to the preoperative area, perform a quick physical exam, update the medical chart and provide a hospital gown.

Then you and your child will meet with the anesthesiologist to discuss the type of anesthesia to be used and how it will be administered. You’ll also meet with your child’s surgeon to discuss any last-minute concerns.

Parents can and should accompany their children until they enter the operating room. Kids can take a comfort item with them into surgery, such as a clean stuffed animal or blanket.

After surgery, your child will be taken to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) to recover. Once you have spoken with the surgeon to discuss the outcome of the procedure, you will join your child in the PACU. Depending on the type of surgery, some children are released the same day, while others are required to stay overnight.