Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

[Guest guest]

Congrats on your soon to be baby girl. We found out at my 16 week

ultrasound that my Daughter would have bilateral clubbed feet. I was

devestated at first and then came to grips with it and started

searching the net and decided on the ponsetti method. I emailed

Dr.Ponsetti and asked him for a name of a doctor who did his method

and he gave me one 2 hours away which was fine with us. My advice to

you is to get a doctor who is on the ponsetti doctors list on

Dr.Ponsetti's website. Those doctors on the list do the ponsetti

method just like doctor ponsetti does and i think they go thru alot

to get on that list. My daughter got her first cast at 6 days old

and had a total of 5 casts and a tenotomy. She was born oct.12th and

on December 2nd she was in her DBB. She wore her DBB 23 hours a day

for 3 months and now is down to 16 hours. Our doctor didn't do the

tenotomy with anesthesia or a local. She said she didn't like to use

it. She said it feels like a shot being done. I would be hesitant

about the doctor that said that and i wouldn't wait until 3 months. I

would definately get a second opinion and ask dr. ponsetti who he

would recommend. Good luck, everything will be just fine.

Best wishes

and Isabella 10-12-02 bilateral cf

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

Congrats on your soon to be baby girl. We found out at my 16 week

ultrasound that my Daughter would have bilateral clubbed feet. I was

devestated at first and then came to grips with it and started

searching the net and decided on the ponsetti method. I emailed

Dr.Ponsetti and asked him for a name of a doctor who did his method

and he gave me one 2 hours away which was fine with us. My advice to

you is to get a doctor who is on the ponsetti doctors list on

Dr.Ponsetti's website. Those doctors on the list do the ponsetti

method just like doctor ponsetti does and i think they go thru alot

to get on that list. My daughter got her first cast at 6 days old

and had a total of 5 casts and a tenotomy. She was born oct.12th and

on December 2nd she was in her DBB. She wore her DBB 23 hours a day

for 3 months and now is down to 16 hours. Our doctor didn't do the

tenotomy with anesthesia or a local. She said she didn't like to use

it. She said it feels like a shot being done. I would be hesitant

about the doctor that said that and i wouldn't wait until 3 months. I

would definately get a second opinion and ask dr. ponsetti who he

would recommend. Good luck, everything will be just fine.

Best wishes

and Isabella 10-12-02 bilateral cf

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

Hi-

Yes, my son's doctor preferred to use a general too. Many doctors that

haven't been doing the Ponseti Method for very long feel more comfortable

using the general versus the local. Many years ago Ponseti used the general

too. My son was put under the general for 10 minutes at 6 weeks for the

tenonomy at Children's Hospital. I was REALLY WORRIED about putting him

under at such a young age, but they reassured me that even younger babies

are put under all the time for heart surgery's etc right after they are born

for several hours at Children's Hospital. Children's specializes in children

and so do their anesticiolist (sp???). They let me speak to the

anestiologist by phone and in person before making the decision. After I

spoke to him I was more than comfortable with them putting my son under at

such a young age. It was such a short amount of time too. My son only has a

left cf so he only needed a tenonmy in his left foot. They took my son who

was sleeping and within 15 minutes they were back saying they were done and

he would be waking up very shortly and then I could see him. We had to stay

there until he nursed and wet (about 2 hours) and then were discharged home.

Sorry this is starting to go into more details than you requested!

If you are seeing an ortho that doesn't work at Children's then they may not

be comfortable putting children under 12 weeks with a general. In that case

you may want them to do the casting and then just fly out to Ponseti for the

tenonomy. That way you are also reassured the casting was done properly and

your son's foot was fully corrected. You can then do your follow up etc in

Houston.

>

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>Subject: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

>

>Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

>our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

>likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

>research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

>are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

>Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

>out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

>one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

>Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

>everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

>rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

>problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

>old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

>Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

>months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

>anesthesia over the local?

>

>Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

Hi-

Yes, my son's doctor preferred to use a general too. Many doctors that

haven't been doing the Ponseti Method for very long feel more comfortable

using the general versus the local. Many years ago Ponseti used the general

too. My son was put under the general for 10 minutes at 6 weeks for the

tenonomy at Children's Hospital. I was REALLY WORRIED about putting him

under at such a young age, but they reassured me that even younger babies

are put under all the time for heart surgery's etc right after they are born

for several hours at Children's Hospital. Children's specializes in children

and so do their anesticiolist (sp???). They let me speak to the

anestiologist by phone and in person before making the decision. After I

spoke to him I was more than comfortable with them putting my son under at

such a young age. It was such a short amount of time too. My son only has a

left cf so he only needed a tenonmy in his left foot. They took my son who

was sleeping and within 15 minutes they were back saying they were done and

he would be waking up very shortly and then I could see him. We had to stay

there until he nursed and wet (about 2 hours) and then were discharged home.

Sorry this is starting to go into more details than you requested!

If you are seeing an ortho that doesn't work at Children's then they may not

be comfortable putting children under 12 weeks with a general. In that case

you may want them to do the casting and then just fly out to Ponseti for the

tenonomy. That way you are also reassured the casting was done properly and

your son's foot was fully corrected. You can then do your follow up etc in

Houston.

>

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>Subject: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

>

>Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

>our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

>likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

>research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

>are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

>Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

>out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

>one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

>Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

>everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

>rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

>problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

>old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

>Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

>months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

>anesthesia over the local?

>

>Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

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[Guest guest]

Hi-

Yes, my son's doctor preferred to use a general too. Many doctors that

haven't been doing the Ponseti Method for very long feel more comfortable

using the general versus the local. Many years ago Ponseti used the general

too. My son was put under the general for 10 minutes at 6 weeks for the

tenonomy at Children's Hospital. I was REALLY WORRIED about putting him

under at such a young age, but they reassured me that even younger babies

are put under all the time for heart surgery's etc right after they are born

for several hours at Children's Hospital. Children's specializes in children

and so do their anesticiolist (sp???). They let me speak to the

anestiologist by phone and in person before making the decision. After I

spoke to him I was more than comfortable with them putting my son under at

such a young age. It was such a short amount of time too. My son only has a

left cf so he only needed a tenonmy in his left foot. They took my son who

was sleeping and within 15 minutes they were back saying they were done and

he would be waking up very shortly and then I could see him. We had to stay

there until he nursed and wet (about 2 hours) and then were discharged home.

Sorry this is starting to go into more details than you requested!

If you are seeing an ortho that doesn't work at Children's then they may not

be comfortable putting children under 12 weeks with a general. In that case

you may want them to do the casting and then just fly out to Ponseti for the

tenonomy. That way you are also reassured the casting was done properly and

your son's foot was fully corrected. You can then do your follow up etc in

Houston.

>

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>Subject: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

>

>Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

>our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

>likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

>research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

>are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

>Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

>out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

>one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

>Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

>everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

>rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

>problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

>old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

>Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

>months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

>anesthesia over the local?

>

>Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

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[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for your reply. The more details about your experience the

better. This is our first baby and this problem is such a surprise to us

because neither of us have a family history of club feet.

Am I assuming correctly that you are also from Houston? If so, what doctor have

you been using here for an orthopedist? The doctor I have found so far that

does the Ponsetti method is Dr. Epps. He does work out of Texas Children's

Hospital. Do you happen to know the name of the anethesiologist you used? We

still have a few more weeks to decide on an ortho since she won't be here till

the end of May.

How is your son's condition? Does he have to use the dennis brown shoes now?

How did he adjust to them?

Again, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. It really helps to

know how many others are dealing with the same problem.

Best regards,

Sheats

new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

>

>Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

>our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

>likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

>research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

>are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

>Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

>out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

>one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

>Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

>everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

>rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

>problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

>old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

>Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

>months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

>anesthesia over the local?

>

>Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for your reply. The more details about your experience the

better. This is our first baby and this problem is such a surprise to us

because neither of us have a family history of club feet.

Am I assuming correctly that you are also from Houston? If so, what doctor have

you been using here for an orthopedist? The doctor I have found so far that

does the Ponsetti method is Dr. Epps. He does work out of Texas Children's

Hospital. Do you happen to know the name of the anethesiologist you used? We

still have a few more weeks to decide on an ortho since she won't be here till

the end of May.

How is your son's condition? Does he have to use the dennis brown shoes now?

How did he adjust to them?

Again, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. It really helps to

know how many others are dealing with the same problem.

Best regards,

Sheats

new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

>

>Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

>our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

>likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

>research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

>are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

>Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

>out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

>one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

>Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

>everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

>rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

>problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

>old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

>Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

>months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

>anesthesia over the local?

>

>Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for your reply. The more details about your experience the

better. This is our first baby and this problem is such a surprise to us

because neither of us have a family history of club feet.

Am I assuming correctly that you are also from Houston? If so, what doctor have

you been using here for an orthopedist? The doctor I have found so far that

does the Ponsetti method is Dr. Epps. He does work out of Texas Children's

Hospital. Do you happen to know the name of the anethesiologist you used? We

still have a few more weeks to decide on an ortho since she won't be here till

the end of May.

How is your son's condition? Does he have to use the dennis brown shoes now?

How did he adjust to them?

Again, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. It really helps to

know how many others are dealing with the same problem.

Best regards,

Sheats

new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

>

>Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

>our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

>likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

>research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

>are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

>Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

>out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

>one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

>Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

>everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

>rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

>problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

>old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

>Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

>months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

>anesthesia over the local?

>

>Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[Guest guest]

Hi -

No...I'm not in Houston. We went to the Children's Hospital in San Diego

because we live in Southern CA. I have heard of Dr. Epps on this board. You

should post " Dr. Epps " in the subject line and ask people for their opinion

on that doctor.

We didn't find out about my son's lft cf until birth. I had three

ultrasounds to check for his size (he was 10lbs at birth) and none of them

detected his cf. They only estimated him being 7lbs at birth too, so I don't

have to much faith in the techs that did my ultrasounds;) My son was treated

by a doctor at Children's that practices the Ponseti Method too. His foot

was fully corrected by 9 weeks of age and he went into the DBB at that time.

He adjusted to the DBB in just a couple of days. The first 90 days in the

DBB at 23hrs is DEFINATELY the hardest part. But then he went down to 16hrs

after that until 9 months and that seemed like a breeze, now he is down to

12hrs and it seems like nothing. He basically puts them on an hour before

bed and we take them off after breakfast. He doesn't fight at all when we

put them on. He gets way more upset about a diaper change than the shoes. It

really has just become part of our nighttime routine. Looking back at

everything cast, tenonomy, DBB at 23hrs etc, the DBB portion for 23hrs a day

was definately the hardest but the time does go by quick and it is so worth

it to avoid major surgery.

Let me know if I can answer anymore questions for you.

>

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: <nosurgery4clubfoot >

>Subject: Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 16:16:08 -0500

>

>Thank you so much for your reply. The more details about your experience

>the better. This is our first baby and this problem is such a surprise to

>us because neither of us have a family history of club feet.

>

>Am I assuming correctly that you are also from Houston? If so, what doctor

>have you been using here for an orthopedist? The doctor I have found so

>far that does the Ponsetti method is Dr. Epps. He does work out of Texas

>Children's Hospital. Do you happen to know the name of the anethesiologist

>you used? We still have a few more weeks to decide on an ortho since she

>won't be here till the end of May.

>

>How is your son's condition? Does he have to use the dennis brown shoes

>now? How did he adjust to them?

>

>Again, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. It really helps

>to know how many others are dealing with the same problem.

>

>Best regards,

> Sheats

> new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

> >Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 01:17:49 -0000

> >

> >Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> >our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more than

> >likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> >research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> >are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> >Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> >out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name of

> >one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> >Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> >everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he would

> >rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy. The

> >problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> >old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> >Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> >months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> >anesthesia over the local?

> >

> >Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

> >

> >

>

>

> _________________________________________________________________

> Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

Ponseti method as it was designed.

As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

that is ok for your situation.

There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

parental experience.

The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

msg=5180.8

So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

is not the Ponseti method).

You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

" Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

techniques. "

There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

, Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

Texas Medical Center.

Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

not.

1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

hopefully 5%.

2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

I hope that this information is of help.

and (3-17-99)

http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

Ponseti method as it was designed.

As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

that is ok for your situation.

There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

parental experience.

The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

msg=5180.8

So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

is not the Ponseti method).

You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

" Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

techniques. "

There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

, Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

Texas Medical Center.

Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

not.

1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

hopefully 5%.

2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

I hope that this information is of help.

and (3-17-99)

http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for all the detailed info. Some of it I had read before on

other websites and some things you opened my eyes to. So I really appreciate

it. I will check out the parentsplace site also.

I am running into a few walls trying to find a local doctor. One doctor I

called today, the nurse said I had to make an appointment to talk to him and

they couldn't schedule me in for a month. I told them that was not an option

and they conceded to letting me fax the doctor my questions. It bothers me that

the doctor won't take 10 minutes to talk to me on the phone. Shoot, scheduling

an appointment would take even more time from his day. But I will keep an open

mind and see how he responds to my fax. I included a list of questions Dr.

Ponseti had given me along with the questions you told me to ask in my fax to

him.

Best regards,

Sheats

Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

Ponseti method as it was designed.

As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

that is ok for your situation.

There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

parental experience.

The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

msg=5180.8

So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

is not the Ponseti method).

You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

" Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

techniques. "

There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

, Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

Texas Medical Center.

Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

not.

1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

hopefully 5%.

2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

I hope that this information is of help.

and (3-17-99)

http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for all the detailed info. Some of it I had read before on

other websites and some things you opened my eyes to. So I really appreciate

it. I will check out the parentsplace site also.

I am running into a few walls trying to find a local doctor. One doctor I

called today, the nurse said I had to make an appointment to talk to him and

they couldn't schedule me in for a month. I told them that was not an option

and they conceded to letting me fax the doctor my questions. It bothers me that

the doctor won't take 10 minutes to talk to me on the phone. Shoot, scheduling

an appointment would take even more time from his day. But I will keep an open

mind and see how he responds to my fax. I included a list of questions Dr.

Ponseti had given me along with the questions you told me to ask in my fax to

him.

Best regards,

Sheats

Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

Ponseti method as it was designed.

As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

that is ok for your situation.

There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

parental experience.

The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

msg=5180.8

So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

is not the Ponseti method).

You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

" Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

techniques. "

There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

, Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

Texas Medical Center.

Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

not.

1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

hopefully 5%.

2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

I hope that this information is of help.

and (3-17-99)

http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for all the detailed info. Some of it I had read before on

other websites and some things you opened my eyes to. So I really appreciate

it. I will check out the parentsplace site also.

I am running into a few walls trying to find a local doctor. One doctor I

called today, the nurse said I had to make an appointment to talk to him and

they couldn't schedule me in for a month. I told them that was not an option

and they conceded to letting me fax the doctor my questions. It bothers me that

the doctor won't take 10 minutes to talk to me on the phone. Shoot, scheduling

an appointment would take even more time from his day. But I will keep an open

mind and see how he responds to my fax. I included a list of questions Dr.

Ponseti had given me along with the questions you told me to ask in my fax to

him.

Best regards,

Sheats

Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

Ponseti method as it was designed.

As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

that is ok for your situation.

There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

parental experience.

The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

msg=5180.8

So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

is not the Ponseti method).

You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

" Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

techniques. "

There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

, Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

Texas Medical Center.

Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

not.

1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

hopefully 5%.

2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

I hope that this information is of help.

and (3-17-99)

http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

> Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

than

> likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

of

> one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

would

> rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

The

> problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> anesthesia over the local?

>

> Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Hope you don't mind me butting in here. Any doctor not willing to talk to

you over the phone regarding the Ponseti Method would be a red flag to me.

We were seeing a Ponseti Method doctor in SD who didn't give us much time at

all even at the appointments. After all casting was done I found out the doc

we were using was modifying the Ponseti Method in regards to the DBB. I

decided at that time I was going to switch to a certified Ponseti doctor.

Dr. Colburn (9 hours from where I live) was highly recommended by other

parents on this site and Dr. P recommended him too. I called DR. Colburn to

share with him my concerns regarding the doc I was currently seeing. He

wasn't in the office that day but got my message and called and talked to me

for 1 1/2hours from his home! Dr. Colburn shares the same passion as DR. P

in regards to fixing all these babies feet without surgery and they do

everything to educate the parents, so they make the right choice. If the

doctors aren't willing to spend time with you now, I doubt they are willing

to spend that much time with you in the appointments as well.

I know it is ideal to find someone locally, but the best doc for your son

may not be locally. I feel lucky to of found a doctor 9 hours a way. Many

people have to travel much farther to find a certified Ponseti doctor, but I

don't know anyone who regrets it. You're lucky because you still have a

little time to find the right doc. We didn't find out until birth and then

we scrambled. I would look on Dr. P's website at all the certified doctors

and find the one that is closest to you and ask anyone on this board if they

have heard or him or her.

>

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: <nosurgery4clubfoot >

>Subject: Re: Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 22:15:25 -0500

>

>,

>

>Thank you so much for all the detailed info. Some of it I had read before

>on other websites and some things you opened my eyes to. So I really

>appreciate it. I will check out the parentsplace site also.

>

>I am running into a few walls trying to find a local doctor. One doctor I

>called today, the nurse said I had to make an appointment to talk to him

>and they couldn't schedule me in for a month. I told them that was not an

>option and they conceded to letting me fax the doctor my questions. It

>bothers me that the doctor won't take 10 minutes to talk to me on the

>phone. Shoot, scheduling an appointment would take even more time from his

>day. But I will keep an open mind and see how he responds to my fax. I

>included a list of questions Dr. Ponseti had given me along with the

>questions you told me to ask in my fax to him.

>

>Best regards,

> Sheats

> Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>

>

> So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

> Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

> Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

> we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

> up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

> Ponseti method as it was designed.

>

> As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

> using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

> is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

> tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

> that is ok for your situation.

>

> There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

> recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

> parental experience.

>

> The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

> site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

> Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

> reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

> message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

> msg=5180.8

>

> So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

> such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

> beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

> Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

> near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

> Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

> children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

> is not the Ponseti method).

>

> You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

> Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

> least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

> say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

> deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

> readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

> best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

> almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

>

> " Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

> of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

> the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

> clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

> be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

> experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

> but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

> trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

> http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

>

> If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

> Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

> having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

> least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

> physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

> techniques. "

>

> There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

> Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

> others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

>

> Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

> t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

> Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

> J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

> , Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

> A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

>

> http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

>

> It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

> Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

> their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

> Texas Medical Center.

>

> Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

> Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

> http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

> at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

>

> I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

> they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

> Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

> identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

> who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

> not.

>

> 1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

> release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

> hopefully 5%.

>

> 2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

> Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

>

> I hope that this information is of help.

>

> and (3-17-99)

> http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> > Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> > our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

> than

> > likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> > research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> > are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> > Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> > out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

> of

> > one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> > Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> > everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

> would

> > rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

> The

> > problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> > old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> > Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> > months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> > anesthesia over the local?

> >

> > Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Hope you don't mind me butting in here. Any doctor not willing to talk to

you over the phone regarding the Ponseti Method would be a red flag to me.

We were seeing a Ponseti Method doctor in SD who didn't give us much time at

all even at the appointments. After all casting was done I found out the doc

we were using was modifying the Ponseti Method in regards to the DBB. I

decided at that time I was going to switch to a certified Ponseti doctor.

Dr. Colburn (9 hours from where I live) was highly recommended by other

parents on this site and Dr. P recommended him too. I called DR. Colburn to

share with him my concerns regarding the doc I was currently seeing. He

wasn't in the office that day but got my message and called and talked to me

for 1 1/2hours from his home! Dr. Colburn shares the same passion as DR. P

in regards to fixing all these babies feet without surgery and they do

everything to educate the parents, so they make the right choice. If the

doctors aren't willing to spend time with you now, I doubt they are willing

to spend that much time with you in the appointments as well.

I know it is ideal to find someone locally, but the best doc for your son

may not be locally. I feel lucky to of found a doctor 9 hours a way. Many

people have to travel much farther to find a certified Ponseti doctor, but I

don't know anyone who regrets it. You're lucky because you still have a

little time to find the right doc. We didn't find out until birth and then

we scrambled. I would look on Dr. P's website at all the certified doctors

and find the one that is closest to you and ask anyone on this board if they

have heard or him or her.

>

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: <nosurgery4clubfoot >

>Subject: Re: Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 22:15:25 -0500

>

>,

>

>Thank you so much for all the detailed info. Some of it I had read before

>on other websites and some things you opened my eyes to. So I really

>appreciate it. I will check out the parentsplace site also.

>

>I am running into a few walls trying to find a local doctor. One doctor I

>called today, the nurse said I had to make an appointment to talk to him

>and they couldn't schedule me in for a month. I told them that was not an

>option and they conceded to letting me fax the doctor my questions. It

>bothers me that the doctor won't take 10 minutes to talk to me on the

>phone. Shoot, scheduling an appointment would take even more time from his

>day. But I will keep an open mind and see how he responds to my fax. I

>included a list of questions Dr. Ponseti had given me along with the

>questions you told me to ask in my fax to him.

>

>Best regards,

> Sheats

> Re: new baby girl w/ clubfoot - Houston

>

>

> So far on the internet, we are not yet aware of any parents in

> Houston who have said that their doctors in Houston were using the

> Ponseti method. Unless a doctor is listed on Dr. Ponseti's web site,

> we have tried to have parents local to that area be the ones to speak

> up about whether or not they feel that their doctor is doing the

> Ponseti method as it was designed.

>

> As someone else had mentioned, some doctors feel more comfortable in

> using a general anesthesia when doing a tenotomy. My guess is that

> is more likely for doctors who have not yet done a lot of

> tenotomies. That is something that you will need to determine if

> that is ok for your situation.

>

> There have been a couple of Houston area families on the internet

> recently and perhaps you could contact them for additional local

> parental experience.

>

> The following message is to a parent from Houston at the Parentsplace

> site who was asking about trying to find a Ponseti method doctor in

> Houston. The message is at the following location but is also

> reprinted below. Her e-mail address can be found at the site of the

> message at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppclubfoot/?

> msg=5180.8

>

> So far, although there may be some, we on the internet who watch for

> such things are not aware of any Ponseti method doctors in Houston. I

> beleive that Dr. , who until recently was the head of the

> Houston Shriners may be able to tell you if he is aware of anyone

> near Houston who is tyring to use the method. At a Shriners web site,

> Dr. is quoted as saying that he feels that only 25% of

> children's feet can be corrected without the surgery (which obviously

> is not the Ponseti method).

>

> You can see from the Houston Shriners Hospitals discussion on

> Clubfoot on their national web site that they had or were aware of at

> least 2 different casting methods. At their web site they

> say " Talipes equinovarus, or clubfoot, is a relatively common foot

> deformity, affecting one in 1,000 children each year. Clubfoot is

> readily identifiable at birth, making it easy to diagnose. Yet how to

> best treat clubfoot generates more controversy among physicians than

> almost any other orthopaedic condition... "

>

> " Doctors differ widely in their opinions regarding the success rate

> of serial casting. Some say the procedure works only five percent of

> the time [95% surgery], while some believe almost all cases of

> clubfoot [i.e. Ponseti method], when treated early and correctly, can

> be corrected with conservative therapy. Dr. [in his

> experience] says serial casting works in 20 to 25 percent of cases,

> but this percentage could increase, he said, if more physicians were

> trained in proper manipulation and casting techniques. "

> http://www.shrinershq.org/patientedu/clubfoot2.html

>

> If Dr. view is shared by all of the other ped orthos in

> Houston, then about 75% of children being treated in Houston would be

> having the surgery. But that article has been on the internet for at

> least the past 2 years. It is possible that since then that " ... more

> physicians were trained in proper manipulation and casting

> techniques. "

>

> There are 9 pediatric orthopedists who are members of the Pediatric

> Orthopedic Society of North America in Houston. There may also be

> others there who treat clubfoot who are not members of their society.

>

> Dr. A. (former chief of Shriners Houston)USA Dr.

> t.. Brock, Houston, USA Dr. R. Epps, Houston, USA Dr. T.

> Gerow, Houston, USA Dr. ph J. Gugenheim, Houston, USA Dr.

> J. Haynes (new chief of Shriners Houston), USA Dr. A.

> , Houston, USA Dr. C. , Houston, USA Dr.

> A. Davino, Sugar Land, USA

>

> http://www.posna.org/FindAMember/MemberList.asp?State=TX

>

> It appears that Houston ped orthos are affiliated with the Texas

> Children's Hospital and/or the Houston Shriners Hospital. All of

> their addresses and zip codes are at about the same location in the

> Texas Medical Center.

>

> Here are the web sites for the Texas Children's Hospital and Shriners

> Houston. Texas Children's Hospital's Pediatric Fellowships section

> http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/new_ortho/fellow_ped.html Houston Shriners

> at http://www.shrinershq.org/shc/houston/index.html

>

> I would encourage you to call a few of the ped orthos and ask them if

> they are using the Ponseti method as well as these two questions. Dr.

> Ponseti has said that the answers to these questions can help to

> identify those who are using his method. There have been some doctors

> who have said that they were using the Ponseti method who really were

> not.

>

> 1. What percentage of children you treat need to have the posterior

> release types of surgery. Their answer should be less than 10% and

> hopefully 5%.

>

> 2. How many casts does it take you to correctly position the feet.

> Their answer should be 4 to 7 and always less than 9.

>

> I hope that this information is of help.

>

> and (3-17-99)

> http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/egbert.html

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> > Hi, to everyone. My husband and I were recently given the news at

> > our latest ultrasound that our little girl due in May will more

> than

> > likely have bilateral clubfoot. I have frantically been doing

> > research. From the several websites, stories, etc. I've read, we

> > are setting our sites on the Ponsetti method. Since I live in

> > Houston their are hundreds of doctor's to choose from. Has anyone

> > out there had success with a Houston orthopedist? I got the name

> of

> > one that I contacted. I asked him a list of questions that Dr.

> > Ponsetti told me in an e.mail to ask. The doctor answered

> > everything correctly as Dr. Ponsetti instructed except that he

> would

> > rather use general anethesia instead of local for the tenotomy.

> The

> > problem with that is that they'll have to wait till she's 3 months

> > old to use a general. I know many people have been through the

> > Ponsetti method and finished with the last casting way before 3

> > months. Has anyone else had a doctor that prefered the general

> > anesthesia over the local?

> >

> > Any advise anyone can give would be wonderful.

>

>

>