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My daughter broke the tip of her finger a week ago and has to keep a splint on her finger to keep it straight so it will heal properly. The problem is, she won't keep it on. She's only 2 years old and doesn't understand the importance. What can I do?

It is important, as you know, that the splint stay on for as long as it is supposed to in order for the finger to heal. First, if you haven't already, have the splint evaluated by the doctor or the healthcare professional who applied it to be sure it is the correct fitting.

If the splint is correct, try speaking with the doctors or nurses to see what tricks they may know for keeping the splint on.

If the splint doesn't stay on, your daughter may have to have surgery eventually to fix any remaining deformity.

Reference: 

Tarik Kardestuncer, MD, Donald S. Bae, MD, and Peter M. Waters, MD. The Results of Tenodermodesis for Severe Chronic Mallet Finger Deformity in Children. In Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. January/February 2008. Vol. 28. No. 1. Pp. 81-84.

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