Clinics and wards of the Limb Reconstruction Unit

The Limb Reconstruction Unit offers treatment on an outpatient and inpatient basis.

Outpatient clinics for the Limb Reconstruction Unit are held twice a week and involve several members of the multidisciplinary team. This is where we normally meet you and your child for the first time and make an assessment of the problem.

Appointments will usually start with us asking detailed questions about your child, their health, their function, and about any treatment they have had in the past. We then examine them in as fun a way as possible and without causing them any distress. It is useful to bring a pair of shorts for your child to wear as many children feel more comfortable and less anxious like this. We often ask for tests to be done, usually x-rays – it is quite unusual for us to ask for blood tests, especially at an initial appointment.

The Limb Reconstruction Unit holds multidisciplinary pre-admission appointments before any operation. At this appointment, you will be able to discuss your child’s planned operation in detail with the team before coming in to hospital.

It is also an opportunity to make sure everything is in place to look after your child after the procedure, including any special arrangements or equipment that might be needed after they go home. Referrals to local services may be sent from this appointment, with your consent, to ensure equipment and community services, such as physiotherapy and nursing care, are in place for after surgery.

Your child may also have various tests and investigations carried out around the time of this appointment, if needed for the operation or the anaesthetic. This avoids any delays on the day of the operation.

On the day of the operation, your child will usually be admitted to the surgical pre-admission unit on Woodpecker ward, where the nursing staff will welcome them and check they are fit and well. You will also see the anaesthetist, who will discuss with you how your child will be kept asleep during the procedure and what pain relief options they will have after the procedure. You will see a member of the surgical team for a final check on the day of surgery.

You will be able to accompany your child to the operating theatre and stay with them while they have their anaesthetic. While the operation is being done you are free to leave and we issue you with a pager so you can be called back to the recovery room as soon as your child’s operation is over and they are starting to wake up.

Most children and young people having inpatient treatment stay on Sky Ward , which is on Level 6 of the Octav Botnar Wing. Parents have 24/7 access, and there is a single bed next to every hospital bed to stay with your child at all times. The ward has been designed specifically to meet the needs of children and young people with orthopaedic conditions, before and after surgery. There is a high dependency area care bay within the ward, containing four beds for children who need close observation and monitoring after an operation. The main ward contains a mixture of single rooms and shared bays. There is also a fully equipped plaster room and a treatment room on the ward.

Length of stay on the ward will vary dependent on the operation and your child’s abilities. An estimation of length of stay will be advised at your pre-operative appointment.

After an operation your child will be seen by various members of the team to make sure everything is in place before you go home. Most children will require physiotherapy and occupational therapy to ensure they can manage activities of daily life at home and to facilitate return to school. Your child may also be taken to the physiotherapy gym for specific rehabilitation.

We usually give you an appointment to come back to see us some time after the operation, as well as contact details so you can get in touch if you have any concerns.