Re: Baby with Billateral Talipes

August 4, 2004

Hello Jagjit,

Congratulations on the birth of your son! The doctors were right,

there is no reason to worry. Clubfeet, as they are also called, are

very fixable! You are on the right board if you are interested in the

Ponseti Method! Our daughter was born in February with one clubfoot

which has been now corrected using the Ponseti Method. She wears the

Foot Abduction Brace to maintain the correction and will do so until

she is 3-4 years old.

The treatment that they are suggesting you start with is not how the

Ponseti Method works. Here is a brief summary of the steps.

Casting of the feet should begin ASAP, our daughter received her

first cast at 8 days old. It

was changed weekly for five casts (it is an above the knee cast, can

be from 5-9 casts).

Each one rotated the foot out further. The Dr. then performed a

tenotomy to release the achilles tendon. Clubfoot children's tendon

is often short or tight.

This is more of a procedure than a surgery, it allows the foot to

have more dorsiflexion (when you flex your foot up). It took 20

minutes and can be done either in the dr. office or in the O.R.,

different doctors have different preferences. She then had a cast for

3 weeks while the tendon healed. She will now wear a Foot Abduction

Brace (FAB) until she is 3-4 years old. At first it is worn 23

hours/day for 3 months. Then time is reduced to 16-18 hours/day

until they crawl and then it is nap and night until they walk, then

last, bed time until 3-4 years old. The FAB keeps the correction of

the foot. It is two shoes with a bar attached to the bottom and the

shoes are rotated out. Our daughter is 5 months old and is doing the

things that she should, starting to sit up, rolling over, bringing

her knees up to get ready to crawl, etc. I have read wonderful

stories about their active children doing all the sports, dancing,

running and playing that children without clubfeet do. There is a

difference in the genetic makeup of the lower leg and foot, so the

foot may be smaller and the calves may be thinner, but I have also

read stories about how you can't tell the difference between the two

feet and legs.

If you haven't been to Dr. Ponseti's webite, here is the link.

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

There is a gentleman on this board named Egbert who has

knowledge about doctors in India who practice the method, he will

likely comment on specifics for you.

Best of luck in your decision making! Keep us posted on how things go

and if you have any questions, ask away!

Louisa

6-27-99

Zoe 2-22-04 Right Unilateral Clubfoot

-- In nosurgery4clubfoot , " Jagjit Singh "

wrote:

> My wife delivered a Baby Boy last week who's born with Billateral

> Talipes. We are based in Mumbai. Having consulted with a few

> doctors, who assured me that there is nothing to get worried about

> and the fact that this is 100% curable, i thought it will be better

> off to find some more information on the condition & related

> treatments on the internet.

>

> I came across the Ponseti method. Though I am in no position (with

> my limited knowledge) to decide whats the best treatment for the

> baby.

>

> At the moment doctors have suggested for some foot exercise to be

> performed 200-250 times a day for next 1.5 months and then they

> propose to put a casting / plaster (5 of them to be changed every 2

> weeks). This according to the doctors would cure the disorder /

> condition upto 90% and if required a surgery.

>

> I would appreciate your advice & assistance on the same.

August 4, 2004