G.S.
My experience on this has varied. Sometimes the person will recover fine on their own, through rest, stretching and time. Other times all avenues have been explored and surgery becomes necessary. In the case of a a young child I would definately explore stretching and therapy, along with a great deal of time for the situtation to resolve it's self before resorting to surgery. The young body heals well when given proper time and encouragement :)