Update on Children's DC

[Guest guest]

As many of you know, Zoe was the first POnseti patient at Children's

Hospital in DC. She is now 3 years, 2 months old. The cast technician, Bill

, had just returned from training with Doctor Ponseti in NYC (May

2001). The casting was wildly successful. Unfortunately, Dr. Tosi was making

variations in the method that we weren't comfortable with even though Zoe's

clubfoot is very mild. She was one of the lucky 15% who don't need a

tenotomy.

Out of curiosity, I was surfing the Children's website the other day to see

what they were saying about Clubfoot. It still says they're using short leg

casting (only 1/3 successful) and surgery. I e-mailed Bill (we've kept in

touch) to see what the status was at Children's. He said that they're still

very committed to the method and since they started using the method, he's

not aware of any Posterior-Medial release surgeries being performed!

Wonderful news.

When we were thinking of switching from Dr. Tosi to Dr. Herzenberg, I did

let Dr. Ponseti know what my concerns were and he stressed that I needed to

keep the angle at 70 degrees and keep the shoes on for naps and night times

until at least 3 years of age. His response helped us decide to switch.

Other parents on this list had reported that they, too, had let Dr. Ponseti

know of any deviations their doctor was making. At that time, Dr. Ponseti

said he would write Dr. Tosi a letter emphasizing the importance of

following the protocol exactly. I can only hope that it made a difference.

So, that's our experience in a nutshell!

Hope this helps!

Joanne W. mom to Zoe (3-25-01, right clubfoot)

www.geocities.com/joannewalton2003/clubfootstory.html

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