Re: Yeah! I am here (I'm new),

April 19, 2002

Hi Anne, i'm sorry i don't know anything about the single brace, but

i just wanted to welcome you here! i'm sure someone will be able to

answer your question. anyway...welcome aboard!

Tia & Kelby

8-3-01 bilateral

April 19, 2002

Hi Anne, i'm sorry i don't know anything about the single brace, but

i just wanted to welcome you here! i'm sure someone will be able to

answer your question. anyway...welcome aboard!

Tia & Kelby

8-3-01 bilateral

April 19, 2002

Hi Anne, i'm sorry i don't know anything about the single brace, but

i just wanted to welcome you here! i'm sure someone will be able to

answer your question. anyway...welcome aboard!

Tia & Kelby

8-3-01 bilateral

April 19, 2002

Hello,

I just wanted to say welcome!

Sincerely,

& Breanna

annefran10 wrote: Hi,

For some reason Yahoo has not let me into this group until today and

I registered on Sunday!

Anyway, my daughter was born 2/6/02 with her right foot being a club

foot. We explored our options and went with a doctor who follows what

Ponsetti does, with a few minor variations. We did weekly castings

for 6 weeks, had the tenotomy, and a cast for 3 weeks, then last

Friday she got the DBB.

I was searching the internet on Sunday because our daughter had just

gotten the brace and had not slept for two days. I discovered

(through all the wonderful parents here) that the bar was too short

and adjusted it. That worked, but not well enough. We finally went

back to the doctor on Wed. and he re-adjusted the angle of the right

foot. It was originally set at 70, but he made it a little less and

will gradually bring it back up as she gets more used to the bar. (He

also said that her foot is doing great otherwise he'd probably have

kept it at the 70 degree angle.)There is no way possible for me to

explain the wonders that did! I believe it is at 50 now, but she is

almost sleeping through the night again. Of course we'll see what

happens when it finally gets back to 70!

I also had a few questions. My doctor was mentioning a single brace

that one of his other patients use (against his wishes). Has anyone

ever heard of this? Or if possible when switching from wearing 24

hours a day to nights would it be as effective at night? Any thoughts

would be appreciated.

All in all, I am very happy with her progress, and especially the

happy that the doctor is extremely happy with her progress. It's been

rough (especially with a little boy at home who'll be 2 next month),

but like everyone has been saying, it's getting better. Either that

or I am getting numb!

Anyway, I am glad to be on board!

Anne (mom), (dad), (two), and Leah (10 weeks)

April 20, 2002

Anne,

Welcome to you and your family. I'm glad that even though you couldn't

join the list last weekend (I don't know what could have been the

problem) that you were able to get an idea of why Leah was having such a

rough time adjusting to her brace. Out of curiosity, who is your

doctor? You mention that he uses the Ponseti Method with a few minor

variations; what kind of variations can you tell us about?

About the single brace, it sounds like it might be an AFO (ankle foot

orthotic) or some variation of an AFO. The AFO is (to the best of my

knowledge) is a plastic brace usually custom made to a patient's foot

that holds the ankle and foot in a specific position. As to whether

they would be as effective in holding the correction, I really don't

know. I believe that at one time while Dr. Ponseti was retired (,

help me out here a little), the other doctors at the University of Iowa

Hospitals did try using AFO's instead of the DBB/FAB/brace and found

that the correction was not held as well by the AFO compared with the

brace. I'm not and expert by any means, so what I have said is pretty

much my opinion and what I have learned from others on this list.

annefran10 wrote:

> Hi,

> For some reason Yahoo has not let me into this group until today and

> I registered on Sunday!

> Anyway, my daughter was born 2/6/02 with her right foot being a club

> foot. We explored our options and went with a doctor who follows what

> Ponsetti does, with a few minor variations. We did weekly castings

> for 6 weeks, had the tenotomy, and a cast for 3 weeks, then last

> Friday she got the DBB.

> I was searching the internet on Sunday because our daughter had just

> gotten the brace and had not slept for two days. I discovered

> (through all the wonderful parents here) that the bar was too short

> and adjusted it. That worked, but not well enough. We finally went

> back to the doctor on Wed. and he re-adjusted the angle of the right

> foot. It was originally set at 70, but he made it a little less and

> will gradually bring it back up as she gets more used to the bar. (He

> also said that her foot is doing great otherwise he'd probably have

> kept it at the 70 degree angle.)There is no way possible for me to

> explain the wonders that did! I believe it is at 50 now, but she is

> almost sleeping through the night again. Of course we'll see what

> happens when it finally gets back to 70!

> I also had a few questions. My doctor was mentioning a single brace

> that one of his other patients use (against his wishes). Has anyone

> ever heard of this? Or if possible when switching from wearing 24

> hours a day to nights would it be as effective at night? Any thoughts

> would be appreciated.

> All in all, I am very happy with her progress, and especially the

> happy that the doctor is extremely happy with her progress. It's been

> rough (especially with a little boy at home who'll be 2 next month),

> but like everyone has been saying, it's getting better. Either that

> or I am getting numb!

> Anyway, I am glad to be on board!

> Anne (mom), (dad), (two), and Leah (10 weeks)

April 21, 2002

Hi, thanks for the welcome. After talking to the doc. again I now

understand why he is against the single brace. Apparently the muscle

development that takes place with the double brace does not take

place with the single, and that is what is needed to correct her

foot. (There was a lot more technical jargon but I don't have the

time, or finger strength to type it all.)

My doctor is Bueche with M & M Ortho... in Naperville, IL. He

varies the Ponsetti method by using the 3M tape castings instead of

plaster, I think he also mentioned that by him doing the heel cord

surgery as an out-patient procedure in the hospital he varies too.

Anyway, compared to everything I have read on the Ponsetti method, it

seems like Bueche is following the Ponsetti technique completely.

>

> > Hi,

> > For some reason Yahoo has not let me into this group until today

and

> > I registered on Sunday!

> > Anyway, my daughter was born 2/6/02 with her right foot being a

club

> > foot. We explored our options and went with a doctor who follows

what

> > Ponsetti does, with a few minor variations. We did weekly castings

> > for 6 weeks, had the tenotomy, and a cast for 3 weeks, then last

> > Friday she got the DBB.

> > I was searching the internet on Sunday because our daughter had

just

> > gotten the brace and had not slept for two days. I discovered

> > (through all the wonderful parents here) that the bar was too

short

> > and adjusted it. That worked, but not well enough. We finally went

> > back to the doctor on Wed. and he re-adjusted the angle of the

right

> > foot. It was originally set at 70, but he made it a little less

and

> > will gradually bring it back up as she gets more used to the bar.

(He

> > also said that her foot is doing great otherwise he'd probably

have

> > kept it at the 70 degree angle.)There is no way possible for me to

> > explain the wonders that did! I believe it is at 50 now, but she

is

> > almost sleeping through the night again. Of course we'll see what

> > happens when it finally gets back to 70!

> > I also had a few questions. My doctor was mentioning a single

brace

> > that one of his other patients use (against his wishes). Has

anyone

> > ever heard of this? Or if possible when switching from wearing 24

> > hours a day to nights would it be as effective at night? Any

thoughts

> > would be appreciated.

> > All in all, I am very happy with her progress, and especially the

> > happy that the doctor is extremely happy with her progress. It's

been

> > rough (especially with a little boy at home who'll be 2 next

month),

> > but like everyone has been saying, it's getting better. Either

that

> > or I am getting numb!

> > Anyway, I am glad to be on board!

> > Anne (mom), (dad), (two), and Leah (10 weeks)

>

April 21, 2002

Hi, thanks for the welcome. After talking to the doc. again I now

understand why he is against the single brace. Apparently the muscle

development that takes place with the double brace does not take

place with the single, and that is what is needed to correct her

foot. (There was a lot more technical jargon but I don't have the

time, or finger strength to type it all.)

My doctor is Bueche with M & M Ortho... in Naperville, IL. He

varies the Ponsetti method by using the 3M tape castings instead of

plaster, I think he also mentioned that by him doing the heel cord

surgery as an out-patient procedure in the hospital he varies too.

Anyway, compared to everything I have read on the Ponsetti method, it

seems like Bueche is following the Ponsetti technique completely.

>

> > Hi,

> > For some reason Yahoo has not let me into this group until today

and

> > I registered on Sunday!

> > Anyway, my daughter was born 2/6/02 with her right foot being a

club

> > foot. We explored our options and went with a doctor who follows

what

> > Ponsetti does, with a few minor variations. We did weekly castings

> > for 6 weeks, had the tenotomy, and a cast for 3 weeks, then last

> > Friday she got the DBB.

> > I was searching the internet on Sunday because our daughter had

just

> > gotten the brace and had not slept for two days. I discovered

> > (through all the wonderful parents here) that the bar was too

short

> > and adjusted it. That worked, but not well enough. We finally went

> > back to the doctor on Wed. and he re-adjusted the angle of the

right

> > foot. It was originally set at 70, but he made it a little less

and

> > will gradually bring it back up as she gets more used to the bar.

(He

> > also said that her foot is doing great otherwise he'd probably

have

> > kept it at the 70 degree angle.)There is no way possible for me to

> > explain the wonders that did! I believe it is at 50 now, but she

is

> > almost sleeping through the night again. Of course we'll see what

> > happens when it finally gets back to 70!

> > I also had a few questions. My doctor was mentioning a single

brace

> > that one of his other patients use (against his wishes). Has

anyone

> > ever heard of this? Or if possible when switching from wearing 24

> > hours a day to nights would it be as effective at night? Any

thoughts

> > would be appreciated.

> > All in all, I am very happy with her progress, and especially the

> > happy that the doctor is extremely happy with her progress. It's

been

> > rough (especially with a little boy at home who'll be 2 next

month),

> > but like everyone has been saying, it's getting better. Either

that

> > or I am getting numb!

> > Anyway, I am glad to be on board!

> > Anne (mom), (dad), (two), and Leah (10 weeks)

>

April 21, 2002

Anne,

My wife and I moved from Naperville in 1989 and had lived NE of Naper

Blvd and Maple. My parents lived in Naperville from 1973 to about

1992.

I don't think that we have heard the terms " single brace " and " double

brace " before, but I assume that a single brace type of system may be

one in which there is no connection between feet such as an AFO, KAFO

or Wheaton Brace. My guess is that double brace types of systems are

ones like a FAB/DBB where the bracing is connected between the two

feet.

On the internet, we have not been aware of M & M Orthopedics saying

that they were using the Ponseti method in the past. It is possible

that this is a recent change as the M & M web site still uses the

Southern California Orthopedics Institute (SCOI) link instead of Dr.

Ponseti's to explain how clubfoot is treated.

http://www.mmortho.com/questions.html

http://www.scoi.com/clubfoot.htm The SCOI web site does not explain

the use of the Ponseti method.

As you indicated, my impression is that with your doctor using a 3M

tape instead of plaster, that he is using a modification of the

Ponseti method and not really the original Ponseti method. I would

think that would be OK as long as he could get and has been getting

as good a result with what he is doing. There have been a few

instances on the internet where a parent was being told by the doctor

that they were using the " Ponseti method " and instead it was a

modified method that didn't have as good a rate of non-surgical

success. One doctor had told the parents he was using the Posneti

method and his rate of surgery was 90%.

With the 3M taping system was your doctor able to get a solid (hard)

full leg cast that was in the typical positions including the final

casts 70 degrees of external rotation of the Ponseti method such as

is shown on the Cotton Family's web site?

http://hometown.aol.com/vc11/week1.htm

Also, doing the tenotomy on an out-patient basis at a hospital is not

really a modification, but perhaps just his personal preference which

I think is fine. Your doctor having to decrease the external

rotation to 50 degrees from 70 degrees to achieve comfort for the

baby would also indicate that he may not have followed the exact

Ponseti method in having the final cast/taping externally rotated to

70 degrees. The differences may be just preferential modifications

of your doctor in how the Ponseti method is done that may not make

much difference unless your doctors rate of non-surgical success is

not as great. Has your doctor indicated how successful he has been

with his modified verions of the Ponseti method in being able to

avoid the posterior release types of surgery? If you doctors rate

of " non-surgical " success is at least 90 to 95% over a number of

years then I think that the modifications perhaps may not matter much.

One of the other ped ortho groups in Naperville is the office of Dr.

Chong who developed the Wheaton Brace which appears to be an

AFO/single brace type of bracing system. Dr. Chong's office appears

to be north across Ogden Avenue from Naper North HS. His web site

indicates that their rate of surgery is about 50%.

http://www.orthoseek.com/articles/clubfoot.html

Dr. Ponseti's own web site that explains his method can be seen at

http://www.vh.org/Patients/IHB/Ortho/Peds/Clubfeet/Clubfeet.html

and (3-17-99)

http://www.vh.org/Patients/IHB/Ortho/Peds/Clubfeet/Egbert.html

> >

> > > Hi,

> > > For some reason Yahoo has not let me into this group until

today

> and

> > > I registered on Sunday!

> > > Anyway, my daughter was born 2/6/02 with her right foot being a

> club

> > > foot. We explored our options and went with a doctor who

follows

> what

> > > Ponsetti does, with a few minor variations. We did weekly

castings

> > > for 6 weeks, had the tenotomy, and a cast for 3 weeks, then last

> > > Friday she got the DBB.

> > > I was searching the internet on Sunday because our daughter had

> just

> > > gotten the brace and had not slept for two days. I discovered

> > > (through all the wonderful parents here) that the bar was too

> short

> > > and adjusted it. That worked, but not well enough. We finally

went

> > > back to the doctor on Wed. and he re-adjusted the angle of the

> right

> > > foot. It was originally set at 70, but he made it a little less

> and

> > > will gradually bring it back up as she gets more used to the

bar.

> (He

> > > also said that her foot is doing great otherwise he'd probably

> have

> > > kept it at the 70 degree angle.)There is no way possible for me

to

> > > explain the wonders that did! I believe it is at 50 now, but

she

> is

> > > almost sleeping through the night again. Of course we'll see

what

> > > happens when it finally gets back to 70!

> > > I also had a few questions. My doctor was mentioning a single

> brace

> > > that one of his other patients use (against his wishes). Has

> anyone

> > > ever heard of this? Or if possible when switching from wearing

24

> > > hours a day to nights would it be as effective at night? Any

> thoughts

> > > would be appreciated.

> > > All in all, I am very happy with her progress, and especially

the

> > > happy that the doctor is extremely happy with her progress.

It's

> been

> > > rough (especially with a little boy at home who'll be 2 next

> month),

> > > but like everyone has been saying, it's getting better. Either

> that

> > > or I am getting numb!

> > > Anyway, I am glad to be on board!

> > > Anne (mom), (dad), (two), and Leah (10 weeks)

> >

April 21, 2002