callus

Not just the thick skin on the sole of your foot, but also the firm knot of calcified scar tissue that forms about a fractured bone. It is formed by calcification of the blood clot that forms around the fracture site. Within a few weeks it is totally calcified, and then remodelling of the callus leads to the gradual removal of the excess tissue, leaving only a healed bone. Within a few months to a year or two, there will be no sign of a fracture ever occurring there at the site of the callus. Thus the radiologist's report of your child's followup xray might mention "good callus formation." The callus will reach full strength in 8 to 12 weeks; complete disappearance may take months to a year or two, but in general, childhood fractures disappear completely.

In short, it is well for parents to remember after a child's fracture that bone is a living tissue, not an inert lump of rock. In the young, it has a remarkable ability to completely repair itself.

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