My nephew broke his collarbone while playing football. His doctor said that it could be treated with a sling or he could have surgery. If it could be treated both ways, why would surgery even be an option given its risks?

Broken collarbones, or clavicles may be treated with or without surgery, depending on the type of break, the severity and where the break is. Sometimes the child’s age is also a deciding factor.

Research has shown that as children get older, pre-teens and teens, their collarbones are no longer growing as rapidly as they did when they were younger. Therefore, more studies are showing that surgery may be the best option in their case. However, this depends, not only on the fracture itself as mentioned previously, but on the patient and the parents’ wishes.

There have been study findings that have shown that surgery may be better for repairing certain types of broken collarbones, increasing the likelihood of the bone ends joining properly and the patient regaining full use of the arm.