Club Feet

[Anonymous]

Hi Moms, just found out that our little baby will be born with club feed. I got amnio done and everything else seems to be just fine, i.e. no spine issues, no down syndrome. We have an appt with the Children's Hospital next month, to talk about our options. They can't tell the severity of the case by just looking at the xrays, so we have no idea what to expect. Some people say most of the time its not as bad as you expect, however, it's my baby and I'm just so down about all this. Can anyone share their experience...if any? This is 1 in a 1000 cases, so I wouldn't expect too many replies...but thought I would try. Thanks

[Anonymous]

I have a cousin who was born with a club foot. They performed multiple operations on him when he was very young, but he grew up to be an incredible athlete, and aside from the worry I'm sure it caused his parents, it really wasn't the end of the world. Once they removed the cast, he was just a normal kid. And with the exception of his one calf being a little skinnier than the other, you would have no idea he ever had any issues whatsoever. In his case, it was believed that the problem was not genetic, but rather that the leg had become lodged in a bad position during gestation. At the time, they didn't typically (or ever?) perform ultrasounds, so the problem was not discovered until birth. Take heart that in the intervening 30 years, so much more research has been done and presumably there have been scientific advances that make the likelihood of a positive outcome that much better for your little one. Wishing you all the best.

[Anonymous]

My friend was born with club feet and I knew her for 5 years or so before I knew that. She told me one day and I couldn't believe it, you'd never know. She's also expecting a baby this fall and they know that he also has club feet but I think her own experience sets her mind at ease a little. Best wishes, I'm sure everything will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Please email me. I have a 2 YO with Clubfoot and I can put you in touch with some great resources. Also, if you want to talk, I would be happy to.

[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

I had a roommate who was born with club feet. He's almost 30 now, and the treatments were so successful even then, that you couldn't tell. So I imagine that there are even better treatments available now. Funny how the PP said her cousin turned out to be a great athelete. My old roomie was the fencing champion of his home country for three years in a row!

[Anonymous]

Check out this site: http://www.clubfeet.net/celebs.php

[Anonymous]

My cousin has a 10 month old who was born with club feet, and they found out before he was born. They were put in touch with a Dr. who pioneered a procedure to correct club feet that doesn't involve surgery, but rather uses a series of casts and braces and such. Granted, they live in LA and had to fly to San Diego or somewhere in SoCal, so I'm not sure how helpful that is for you other than knowing that there are (non-invasive) options out there. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

The individual who pioneered the method of non-surgicial treatment for club foot (now the standard of care), is Dr. Ponseti and he is located in Iowa. He is 94 and still practices 3 days a week - a truley amazing man.

It is important that you find a dr that is using the Ponseti method and not deviating from it. I do not believe that any of the drs at Children's are on the Ponseti list of "aproved" drs. There is a dr in Baltimore who is fabulous and very well regarded for the treatment of clubfoot - one of the top 4 drs for treating clubfoot in the nation.

Please look into seeing Dr Hertzenberg at Sinai Hospital. It is worth making the trip.

[Anonymous]

Almost everyone in pediatric orthopedics uses the ponseti method of casting for the treatment of club foot deformities as it has become the "standard of care." All the orthopedic doctors at Children's do the ponseti method of casting. Whether or not your child will need a surgery following the casting depends on how severe the deformity is and how your child responds to casting. Most children will need the surgery though. It's a small surgery and your child goes home the same day.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how the "approved" list of doctors for Ponseti method is derived but all the Orthopedic surgeons at Children's use ponseti method for treatment of clubbed foot.

[Anonymous]

My one month old son was also born with club feet and we did not know about it in advance from the ultrasound. It was definitely stressful in the beginning, trying to figure out where to go for treatment, etc, but all of the information we have gotten has been really reassuring, much like all of the previous posters' stories. So far we are on our 4th cast (we are going to Dr Herzenberg's club foot clinic in Baltimore ) and the change in his feet from week to week is really dramatic. He doesn't seem to mind the casting at all, which makes us feel much better about it all, as well. Please feel free to email me if you want to hear more about it or if you have any questions. My email address is [e-mail].

[Anonymous]

Kristi Yamaguchi was born with club feet. Not only was she a gold medalist in the Olympics, she also recently won Dancing With the Stars!