The number of outpatient visits for dwarf patients has increased significantly with the summer holidays. Just last Friday, Ms. Li, who lives in Shandong Province, brought her 10-year-old daughter Ran to the clinic for her fourth follow-up appointment after her child had received height-enhancing intervention a year ago. In 9 months of treatment, the child’s height has increased by 8.5 cm.
According to reports, there are dozens of cases a year of children with short stature like Hao Hao receiving height enhancement treatment at the clinic. The changes in human bone development are basically similar, and the development process of each bone has continuity and stages. Bones at different stages have different morphological characteristics, therefore, bone age assessment can more accurately reflect the level of growth and maturity of an individual. In general, the bone age of children is consistent with their actual age, and the adult height of children can be predicted by bone age. However, in the case of disease, the bone age is often not consistent with the actual age, so the determination of bone age is one of the necessary diagnoses for children with dwarfism.
How to promote the growth of short stature?
Many parents think that their children’s height is related to family genetics, so it is normal for their children to be short if their parents are not tall, and there is no need or treatment for this. In fact, genetic factors affect about 70% of a child’s height, while acquired factors determine the final height of the child. Parents should fully seize this 30% opportunity to create conditions for their children to grow taller, and once they find that their children are significantly shorter than their peers, they should go to a regular hospital for early examination and evaluation in a specialist clinic, and some must also be treated with intervention.
The younger the child is, the younger the bone age is, the more active the cartilage layer of the epiphysis is in proliferation and differentiation, the more space and potential the child has for growth, the more sensitive the child is to treatment, the better the drug for growth, and the more height growth can be obtained. Therefore, the prime time for treatment of dwarfism is from the age of four to the pre-pubertal period. If the treatment starts at an older age, it will contribute less to the adult height and cost more. By the time the child is 14-15 years old, the epiphysis is often closed or nearly closed, and the time for correction is lost, and there is nothing doctors can do.