Club feet

Thank you very much Roxy!! You sound very impressed with Dr Colyn, I will definitely give them a call! If you travelled so far, you must have been impressed! I will definitely pm you if I want to know anything thanks! Enjoy your weekend!

My boy was born with club feet. When he was 2 weeks old his legs were put into plaster and every 2 weeks it was removed and manipulated and then back into plaster.

When he was 3 months old he went for his first op and a week later again.

Plaster was finally removed between 6 and 7 months.

He is now 4 years old and you will never guess that both his feet were severe forms of club feet.

He goes once a year for a check up to make sure everything is still fine.

I can recommend a excellent dr!! We stay in Port Elizabeth but travelled to Pretoria for everything as DR COLYN at Wilgers Hospital is out of this world!!!

He is such an gentle person and i would not have coped if it was not for him.

Good Luck.

You can PM me if you would like to know anything else.

Thanks Twintastic, I'll PM Maryke D.

I'll let you know Babyshoes, thanks.

Claudia B, I have also came across the Ponsetti method on the internet a lot - will look into it in more detail. Thanks for your detailed reply - much appreciated!

Mandy, that's exactly why we did that scan, I want to know and prepare! Thanks for the kind words.

Hi Zel,

ouch, sorry about this news, but your little girl is still perfect in every other way Please try to remain positive, while you must be scared, its at least not the brain or heart! There are options and you will figure them out in time! Its amazing how technology can define this so early on, and it will help you mentally prepare for her arrival. Imagine if you only discovered this at birth! it would be a very anxious time!! Im wishing you all my support and good wishes while you figure this out!

For club feet their are 2 treatment options. One involves a few surgical corrections, the other is a splinting/special shoe option.
The splinting option usually gives much better long term results and fewer long term foot problems (this is called the ponsetti technique), but is usually much harder on mom and dad. From birth every week you will see the doc who will do a stretch and place the foot in a plaster cast. This will happen till about 6 weeks when if the results are satisfactory you will have a achilles tendon release (a smaller surgery than even circumcision - basically a small cut on the heel). After the release baby will go into special shoes that are held apart by a bar which he has o be in most of the time (including when sleeping) for about 3 years. Most children arent bothered by the bar and toddlers even walk with the bar on:) Although much harder on parents, you are basically moulding the feet back to normal, and usually there are no other complications. This technique is relatively new in SA (when I was in the UK I worked in the clubfoot clinic and used to do the splinting and monitoring of the boots), and not all orthopaedic surgeons have taken it on board.

The other is surgical, where the surgeon leterally cuts into the foot and surgically corrects it. (usually done via a cincinatti incision). You usually require about 3/4 surgeries. Its less time consuming, but the surgery is invasive and because the foot is not "moulded" the feet can look different and have pain and other problems later in life.

When I worked in the UK they only did the surgery for parents who were considered "unreliable" ie missed splinting appts etc because if not followed appropriately the splinting will fail.

As for docs, ask your paediatrician for recommendations about paediatric ortho docs. Sorrt I cant help, I only know the durban docs:(

Hi Zelf

I have a friend whos son was born with club feet, she is not on moomie - she is on FB, let me know if you wanna chat to her.

Her son is 3 now and has just undergone another op.

x

www.moomie.co.za/index.php?option=com_ku...start=4540&Itemid=82

Hope this link take you to the forum. Chat to Maryke D her twins (boys) were born with club feet and they are going through treatment. I'm sure she will be able to assist you with some q & a.