Re: has anyone had dr tell them they don't have to wear ...

September 23, 2004

In a message dated 9/23/2004 10:25:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

jacobrsmom@... writes:

> . He said Gabe's foot looked

> great and had terrific dorsiflexion. He only noted that the left heel is a

> little small, and reccommended for us to not wear the brace as much. He

> feels that Gabe's foot needs more weight bearing to stimulate bone growth.

> He knew that he has not been in the sandals for 3 months.

We also see Dr. Frick. I must admit, I am very surprised to hear that

he recomended this. When you say that Gabe has not been in the sandals for 3

months, do you mean that he has not worn them at all? Is that because of

casting?

How long ago did you last see Dr. Frick? Was it right after a cast

that he said Gabe's foot looks great? How does Gabe's foot look to you now?

When is your next appointment? If you have any doubt about the correction being

maintained call the office and leave a message. Dr. Frick will see you even if

it isn't the usual Monday. He will most likely call you back personally and

just tell you to come in without an appointment.

I am wondering if there was some kind of miscommunication because Dr.

Frick is very dedicated to the Ponseti method and brace wear. And even if

extra weight bearing is necessary in your case, so is wearing the brace.

If Gabe has been wearing it then how much less time has he been

wearing it? What should his hours be according to the typical time vs. what

they

actually are as prescribed by Dr. Frick?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but it all sounds so strange. Maybe I

am misunderstanding something. If I were you I would call the office tomorrow

or email Dr. Frick over the weekend to get everything clarified and possibly

checked out by him. If nothing else then you can ask Dr. Frick how often he

has seen this same situation and prescribed the same brace wear. He will

probably even be able to tell you of a study that supports his decision. He is

usually very up to date on the most recent studies, statistics and information,

in

my experience with him. If you still have doubts, email the master!

But to answer your question, I have never heard of this. I have heard

of decreasing the angles and such. But I only know what I hear about.

Kaitlin's foot is completely typical, no tenotomy or anything. Hopefully

someone

else knows about this and can help!

Freeman

September 24, 2004

Gabe has been wearing the sandals for 9 weeks now. He had his

tenotomy in April and was in the Markells for two weeks before he developed

an ulcer. Then he was out of the Markells for the ulcer to heal for 5

weeks, back into casts for 4 weeks. Now in the sandals for 9 weeks.

So now he is crawling and standing in his brace. We saw Dr. Frick on 9/20.

I reiterated with him twice that he had been in these mitchell sandals

only 9 weeks and I always thought Ponsetti always said 23/7 for 3 months no

matter what. He stated that the weight bearing would be very important to

him and that we could go to 12on/12off. He said he realized that this would

be difficult to do, but that is what he reccomends. We have been wearing

the sandals less, maybe 20on/4off, but haven't allowed ourselves 12/12. We

also only leave it off, when he is active and standing in his exersaucer or

trying to stand up holding on to things.

>From: mjz28ss@...

>Reply-To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>To: nosurgery4clubfoot

>Subject: Re: has anyone had dr tell them they don't

>have to wear ...

>Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 22:46:18 EDT

>

>In a message dated 9/23/2004 10:25:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

>jacobrsmom@... writes:

>

> > . He said Gabe's foot looked

> > great and had terrific dorsiflexion. He only noted that the left heel

>is a

> > little small, and reccommended for us to not wear the brace as much. He

> > feels that Gabe's foot needs more weight bearing to stimulate bone

>growth.

> > He knew that he has not been in the sandals for 3 months.

>

> We also see Dr. Frick. I must admit, I am very surprised to hear

>that

>he recomended this. When you say that Gabe has not been in the sandals for

>3

>months, do you mean that he has not worn them at all? Is that because of

>casting?

> How long ago did you last see Dr. Frick? Was it right after a cast

>that he said Gabe's foot looks great? How does Gabe's foot look to you now?

>When is your next appointment? If you have any doubt about the correction

>being

>maintained call the office and leave a message. Dr. Frick will see you

>even if

>it isn't the usual Monday. He will most likely call you back personally

>and

>just tell you to come in without an appointment.

> I am wondering if there was some kind of miscommunication because

>Dr.

>Frick is very dedicated to the Ponseti method and brace wear. And even if

>extra weight bearing is necessary in your case, so is wearing the brace.

> If Gabe has been wearing it then how much less time has he been

>wearing it? What should his hours be according to the typical time vs.

>what they

>actually are as prescribed by Dr. Frick?

> Sorry to ask so many questions, but it all sounds so strange.

>Maybe I

>am misunderstanding something. If I were you I would call the office

>tomorrow

>or email Dr. Frick over the weekend to get everything clarified and

>possibly

>checked out by him. If nothing else then you can ask Dr. Frick how often he

>has seen this same situation and prescribed the same brace wear. He will

>probably even be able to tell you of a study that supports his decision.

>He is

>usually very up to date on the most recent studies, statistics and

>information, in

>my experience with him. If you still have doubts, email the master!

> But to answer your question, I have never heard of this. I have

>heard

>of decreasing the angles and such. But I only know what I hear about.

>Kaitlin's foot is completely typical, no tenotomy or anything. Hopefully

>someone

>else knows about this and can help!

>

> Freeman

>

September 24, 2004