Kyle Menszak, a 13-year-old defender for Pennridge Soccer Club in Perkasie, would have missed her soccer season if she’d had to wear a traditional plaster cast. Thanks to pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Dustin Greenhill, MD, of St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care, that didn’t happen. Today, Kylee is sporting a bright purple, 3D-printed plastic cast made by ActivArmor.
Kylee Menszak recently broke her wrist in gym class playing “capture the flag.” It was the second time the seventh-grader suffered the same injury in just over a year, but this time was different.
The 13-year-old defender for Pennridge Soccer Club would miss her soccer season if she had to wear a traditional plaster cast.
Thanks to pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dustin Greenhill, MD, of St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care, that didn’t happen. Today, Kylee is sporting a bright purple, 3D-printed plastic cast made by ActivArmor under Dr. Greenhill’s direction.
Hers is the only custom-made, 3D-printed splint commercially available in the U.S., and St. Luke’s University Health Network was the first healthcare organization in Pennsylvania to offer this innovative option, possibly rendering traditional casts obsolete in time.
Dr. Greenhill set Kylee’s bone and fitted and applied the cast to her wrist at St. Luke’s Bethlehem Campus.
“The ActivArmor cast is a good option for athletes with a stable fracture,” he said. “Knowing when a child’s fracture is stable and healing acceptably versus unstable and requires more attention (or even surgery) is one of the special skill sets of a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.”
Kylee can remove the cast to shower or dress, and to wash it after soccer or gym. There’s no need to avoid moisture or wrestle with fitted shirt sleeves.
Being able to clean underneath the cast keeps the skin from itching or breaking down, unlike plaster or fiberglass casts.
Best of all for Kylee, said Dr. Greenhill, is that “this cast allows her to continue playing soccer and be an active teenager while she heals. … She can run, sweat, get it wet and dirty. It’s removable, washable and protects her bone.”
Kylee Menszak, 13, didn’t have to miss her soccer season thanks to an innovative–and eye-catching–type of cast Dr. Dustin Greenhill of St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care used to heal her wrist fracture.
Kylee’s mother, Megan, called the cast “fantastic,” and said the same about Dr. Greenhill.
“It’s been a pleasure to have him treating Kylee,” she said. “He made this experience much easier than expected.”
It’s unusual for a medical device to make a fashion statement, but Kylee’s ActivArmor cast does just that. Whether on the field or in class, it draws attention for its eye-catching shine and lattice-like design.
“People stop her to ask about the cast and comment on the color,” said Mom. The cast comes in 11 attractive colors.
Hopefully this is the last time her daughter will need to wear a cast, she added. But her two sons are also athletes, and should one of them ever need a cast, she would want it to be ActivArmor, she said.
Note: This local health news is brought to you in partnership with St. Luke’s University Health Network.
