Severity of broken bone determines surgery needed

ASK THE DOCTORS

Dear Doctors: Our 16-year-old son recently broke his arm skateboarding.

He had to have surgery, and now he's in a cast. I broke my arm back when I was a boy, but all I needed was a cast. Why does a broken arm need surgery? How long does it take for that kind of break to heal?

Dear Reader: Our bones are a miracle of engineering. Made up largely of collagen, a protein that provides a pl…