Injection could prevent deformities in kids with broken bones

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Growth plate injuriesKids who break a bone face the scary possibility that the bone will stop growing. It's called a growth plate injury and those kinds of injuries can lead to limbs that are different lengths or crooked.

Surgery is often necessary to treat the problem, which can be extremely painful and lead to infection.

But researchers at the Colorado School of Mines, in collaboration with Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, are developing a way to treat growth plate injuries with an injection.

Melissa Krebs is a chemical and biological engineering professor at the School of Mines and the chief researcher on the project. She says the injection calls stem cells to the area, which get into the cartilage.