battle about the Ponseti method in Bulgaria

[Guest guest]

My daughter a is 2y 2 months now. She had left clubfoot, very

strong, treated by the Ponseti method by a Bulgarian doctor-

D=Zhivkov. Our site: equinovarus.hit.bg

Our doctor will have again a paper at an ortopeds conference in

Bulgaria. The oposition to the Ponseti method here is very strong. A

Bulgarian mother of a child born with equinovarus called me - she

had seen our site. She is also a patient of Dr Zhivkov, and she only

wanted to talk to me.

They had began treatment by the Ponseti method with our doctor, but

just for second opinion they visited another doctor – a very

important and influencial old professor from Sofia (our capital). He

is the greatest opponent (I should say enemy!) of the Ponseti method

and Dr Zhivkov here in Bulgaria. This is about money I think, because

he makes surgery which is much more expensive, at least here in

Bulgaria. And, imagine what he told this family!!! He told them that

the Ponseti method had been rejected yet 40 years ago when he began

to study ortopedics!!!! This is just a lie!

Can you imagine!??!! That is why I believe more people need to have

information about this method and the great success for their baby's

feet!!! That is why I made our site. Imagine some children may have

problems all their lives just because of the selfishness of some

doctors!

Imagine how our doctor actually fights all the time to introduce the

Ponseti method in such environment!

[Guest guest]

Natalia,

Isn't it unbelievable that these so-called knowledgeable doctors can be

so ill-informed. Keep up your efforts, and support your doctors, slowly

things will change. We have similar experiences in South Africa, but

one of the biggest critics and a doctor who also told us that it was

rejected 40 years ago is now training in the method with a Ponseti

doctor and will not operate any longer. It took him over 30 years, but

he finally got it!

Good luck

and

www.clubfoot.co.za

battle about the Ponseti method in

Bulgaria

My daughter a is 2y 2 months now. She had left clubfoot, very

strong, treated by the Ponseti method by a Bulgarian doctor-

D=Zhivkov. Our site: equinovarus.hit.bg

Our doctor will have again a paper at an ortopeds conference in

Bulgaria. The oposition to the Ponseti method here is very strong. A

Bulgarian mother of a child born with equinovarus called me - she

had seen our site. She is also a patient of Dr Zhivkov, and she only

wanted to talk to me.

They had began treatment by the Ponseti method with our doctor, but

just for second opinion they visited another doctor - a very

important and influencial old professor from Sofia (our capital). He

is the greatest opponent (I should say enemy!) of the Ponseti method

and Dr Zhivkov here in Bulgaria. This is about money I think, because

he makes surgery which is much more expensive, at least here in

Bulgaria. And, imagine what he told this family!!! He told them that

the Ponseti method had been rejected yet 40 years ago when he began

to study ortopedics!!!! This is just a lie!

Can you imagine!??!! That is why I believe more people need to have

information about this method and the great success for their baby's

feet!!! That is why I made our site. Imagine some children may have

problems all their lives just because of the selfishness of some

doctors!

Imagine how our doctor actually fights all the time to introduce the

Ponseti method in such environment!

[Guest guest]

Natalia,

I am sorry that it is still taking some time in Bulgaria for some

doctors to end their resistance to the Ponseti method. I believe and

hope that most if not all doctors are doing what they think is best

for the child regardless of financial issues relating to the mode of

treatment.

But we do need to realize that in many but not all countries, the

U.S. included, that it is quite a bit more expensive to use surgical

methods of treatment instead of the Ponseti method.

Dr. Herzenberg had mentioned this in his June 1999 review of Dr.

Ponseti's book at Amazon.com where he said: " One word of caution: if

you adopt Ponseti's method, as I have, then you will experience a

noticeable drop in your income. Instead of an expensive open

posteromedial release, you will be doing a relatively inexpensive

percutaneous tenotomy. However, the satisfaction of seeing supple,

fully corrected feet resulting from conservative treatment will be

its own reward. One final note: if Ponseti's method is so effective,

why is it not widely used? The fault lies with two parties: we the

orthopaedic community, and Ignacio Ponseti himself. We tend to be

conservative, closed minded, and not open to new ideas. Ponseti has

been guilty, at least until he published this book, of not arguing

forcibly enough to promote his ideas. Those who personally

know " Papa " Ponseti understand that he is gentle, soft-spoken, non-

bombastic, and non-dogmatic. As a result, his quiet voice has been

drowned out by the more self-promoting personalities in our

profession. Now in the twilight of his career, Ponseti has realized

how important it is to teach his method to a wider audience than just

residents at the University of Iowa. In this book, he has done an

admirable job of explaining and illustrating his method. It is up to

the rest of us, now, to carefully read, digest, and apply his

principles. Generations of clubfoot babies will thank us. "

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0192627651/002-2397692-

7868821?v=glance & s=books

Also, this past week I talked with a pediatric orthopedic doctor who

had changed over to the Ponseti method about 2-3 years ago. He

mentioned that as a sideline to now realizing that the Ponseti method

results in a better outcome which he had not believed was possible

before changing over, that he had to get used to the fact that his

income dropped by about $75,000 per year by using the Ponseti method

instead of the posterior-medial release surgery.

I do believe and hope that most if not all doctors are doing what

they really think is best and it is just getting them to consider the

possibility first so that that they realize what the proper use of

the Ponseti method can do. I think that once doctors really realize

that it is a better form of treatment, that the resistance to

changing over goes down.

The change will happen in Bulgaria as it will in every other country

of the world. It is just a matter of time, getting information to

parents who have the freedom to choose the course of treatment for

their own child and having open minded doctors like Dr. Zhivkov to

help introduce the method to the other doctors of his country.

Please give him our thanks for being a pioneer of the method in

Bulgaria.

and (3-17-99)

>

>

> My daughter a is 2y 2 months now. She had left clubfoot,

very

> strong, treated by the Ponseti method by a Bulgarian doctor-

> D=Zhivkov. Our site: equinovarus.hit.bg

>

> Our doctor will have again a paper at an ortopeds conference in

> Bulgaria. The oposition to the Ponseti method here is very strong.

A

> Bulgarian mother of a child born with equinovarus called me - she

> had seen our site. She is also a patient of Dr Zhivkov, and she

only

> wanted to talk to me.

>

> They had began treatment by the Ponseti method with our doctor, but

> just for second opinion they visited another doctor – a very

> important and influencial old professor from Sofia (our capital).

He

> is the greatest opponent (I should say enemy!) of the Ponseti

method

> and Dr Zhivkov here in Bulgaria. This is about money I think,

because

> he makes surgery which is much more expensive, at least here in

> Bulgaria. And, imagine what he told this family!!! He told them

that

> the Ponseti method had been rejected yet 40 years ago when he began

> to study ortopedics!!!! This is just a lie!

>

> Can you imagine!??!! That is why I believe more people need to have

> information about this method and the great success for their

baby's

> feet!!! That is why I made our site. Imagine some children may have

> problems all their lives just because of the selfishness of some

> doctors!

> Imagine how our doctor actually fights all the time to introduce

the

> Ponseti method in such environment!