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When I was at the hospital with my daughter, we saw a little girl with a "halo" around her head and pins in her skull. Doesn't that hurt and can that get infected?

Halos are used for two reasons, to either stabilize the neck so it doesn't move or to apply traction to the spine. To use a halo, surgeons must make holes in the skull and attach pins to it. The pins come out through the skin and are attached to the halo. The holes are drilled while the patient is under general anesthetic. Pain afterwards is managed with analgesics, or painkillers.

Infection is always a risk with halos, so the areas around the pins must be cleaned properly on a regular basis.

Reference: 

Paul D. Sponseller, MD, et al. The Use of Traction in the Treatment of Severe Spinal Deformity. In Spine. October 2008. Vol. 33. No. 21. Pp. 2305-2309.

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