Questions I want to ask Dr. Herzenberg....

[Guest guest]

These are the questions I have drafted so far to ask Dr. Herzenberg.

Does anyone have any other questions they could add to help me make

such a hard decsion, or anything to add to my current questions.

 What is the fixator actually correcting in Collin's case?

 Does this device go through any of his bones? If so does it weaken

the bones? What is the daily routine with the device involve? (i.e.

therapy, cleaning, upkeep, etc.)

 How often would we come in for checkups while in the device?

 How long is the hospital stay when the device is put in & taken

out? (Approximately?)

 Are any activities restricted when wearing the device (i.e.

walking, etc.)?

 Is there permanent scarring, if so about how many scars? (i.e.

Collin has permanent scarring from his surgery at 8 weeks old)

 Would he go back into the DBB/FAB after casting when device is

removed?

 What has been your success rate with the fixator in treatment of

clubfoot?

 Are any other doctors using this device to treat clubfoot? (It is

my understanding you are the " inventor " of using this type of fixator

for clubfoot treatment?)

 What does treatment usually involves after device is removed and

casting is finished? Would you expect other surgeries, etc. Is

there still a chance of relapse after this? If so what could we do

to prevent it?

 Would you suggest a child of Collin's age seeing a psychologist

during or after treatment of the fixator?

 Is there any other pertinent information you could give us that may

help us to make a decision of going forward and scheduling surgery?

 Would the anesthesiologist be a pediatric one? For his first

surgery at Alfred I. DuPont we had a pediatric anesthesiologist since

it was a children's hospital.

 Would walking be limited? If so would we use a wheel chair or

walker of some sort?

 It is my understanding the pinholes could become infected, what is

usually the cause, is there anything we could do to prevent this?

What is usually the outcome if infection sets in? Is it usually just

some antibiotics and cleared up?

 Collin is being potty trained currently, he has been in underwear

during the day excluding nap/bed time for about a week now. Would

you suggest we wait until he is " done " or further in to the training?

 Is there anything you could suggest we could do to explain or

prepare him for the surgery or fixator?

Michele Yoder

Collin's story at http://www.geocities.com/chele323232

[Guest guest]

Wow Michele. Those are some great questions. I think that is a big

decision for a 3 year old. Is the fixator the device that looks like a

basket around the foot and all the pins in the foot? If so, that would be

tough for a 3 year old because he is going to want to pick at it

constantly. At least my 3 year old would. I think the best thing to do

at this point is email Dr. H all your questions. Once he responds,

forward them to Dr. Ponseti, see what he says. At that point I would make

a pros and cons list of doing the surgery now. Also, make a pros and cons

list of doing the surgery later (1year?). Discuss it with DH and see

which one has the most pros. That would be what I would do.

HTH.

Shook

Retail Operations Manager/Baking Instructor

Vie de France Yamazaki, Inc.

2070 Chain Bridge Rd. Suite 500

Vienna, VA 22182

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