Patient's question:
Patient is a 17-year-old female, height 1.48 meters. She feels that her physical development is somewhat early, but she is not growing taller. She wants to seek medical attention to see if she can still grow taller. She has never sought medical treatment for the child's sake, looking for ways to help her child grow taller.Doctor's answer:
Dwarfism primarily refers to a child's height being below two standard deviations of the average height for the same gender, age, and race, or a growth rate of less than five centimeters per year. This condition is caused by a deficiency in growth hormone. If a child's height is found to be below the average for their peers, it is necessary to visit a hospital for growth hormone testing and growth hormone stimulation tests. Once the condition is diagnosed, growth hormone subcutaneous injections are required until the growth plates close. If the treatment is administered promptly and the duration is sufficient, the child's height should be comparable to the average height of their peers, and the condition can be cured.