Guest guest Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Hi everyone I hate to ask but for some reason I can barely read the previous posts, so I was wondering if someone could tell me about what happens after the tendon surgery,my son has been in the dbb for 3 weeks and I really don't know much after that. I think this board is so great, I have learned alot already. It has been a HUGE relief. Also what are the longer term effects of having the club foot, what is considered " normal " for them as they grow? Thank you all so much, Corrina from Ohio mother to Gabe right club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Hi there, welcome to the group! Please never hate to ask a question here, OK? There are so many of us who have been where you are, or are where you are right now. I'm not really sure about your situation. After the tendon release (in the heel, correct?) the baby should be in casts for 3 weeks, then he/she goes in to wearing the DBB (boots with bar). I'm not really sure what phase your baby is in, or anything so I'm not sure what to advise here. Can you give us a few more details, like your child's age and who treated his club foot? Did they follow a Ponseti Method accurately? We'd love to help! As for " normal " , if the foot is properly corrected via the Ponseti Method, your son will be able to enjoy a completely active normal life style, through his infancy in to adulthood. s. repeating Hi everyone I hate to ask but for some reason I can barely read the previous posts, so I was wondering if someone could tell me about what happens after the tendon surgery,my son has been in the dbb for 3 weeks and I really don't know much after that. I think this board is so great, I have learned alot already. It has been a HUGE relief. Also what are the longer term effects of having the club foot, what is considered " normal " for them as they grow? Thank you all so much, Corrina from Ohio mother to Gabe right club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Thanks for responding, My son has been in the shoes for 3 weeks, I believe they are following the method from what I have read on it it seems that way, The doc is the only one in the area and his name is Dr. munk. I sure hope he is doing everything right. But basically he had 6 weeks of casts, tendon release at 6 weeks, hard cast for 2 weeks and then the dbb shoes 23/7, he has been in the shoes for 3 weeks and from what i understand they do that for 2 months correct? Then they just wear the shoes only at night? What I meant by " normal " was like I have heard from the board like one foot being smaller and leg being smaller,,I don't think I wrote my question the way I wanted it to sound....sorry,,,, thanks for the information, it helps a great great deal Corrina > Hi there, welcome to the group! Please never hate to ask a question here, OK? There are so many of us who have been where you are, or are where you are right now. > > I'm not really sure about your situation. After the tendon release (in the heel, correct?) the baby should be in casts for 3 weeks, then he/she goes in to wearing the DBB (boots with bar). I'm not really sure what phase your baby is in, or anything so I'm not sure what to advise here. Can you give us a few more details, like your child's age and who treated his club foot? Did they follow a Ponseti Method accurately? > > We'd love to help! > > As for " normal " , if the foot is properly corrected via the Ponseti Method, your son will be able to enjoy a completely active normal life style, through his infancy in to adulthood. > > s. > > repeating > > > > > Hi everyone I hate to ask but for some reason I can barely read the > previous posts, so I was wondering if someone could tell me about > what happens after the tendon surgery,my son has been in the dbb for > 3 weeks and I really don't know much after that. I think this board > is so great, I have learned alot already. It has been a HUGE relief. > Also what are the longer term effects of having the club foot, what > is considered " normal " for them as they grow? > Thank you all so much, > Corrina from Ohio > mother to Gabe right club > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Corrina, I'm not sure quite what you are asking here. The Ponseti method of treatment consists, for typical cases, of 5-7 sets of specific toe-to-groin casts changed every week. The casting should begin soon after birth. At the end of the casting period, a procedure is performed in which the Achilles tendon is cut. A cast is then applied and stays on for 3 weeks while the tendon regenerates in an extended position.(that is, the Achilles is longer when the 3 week cast is removed than it was before) Most doctors perform the tenotomy with only a local anesthetic, though some prefer to do it under general. It is a very quick procedure that does not usually require stitches. It leaves a very tiny scar, if any. Almost all (90%) clubfoot patients have the tenotomy procedure. Immediately upon removal of the 3 week post-tenotomy cast the baby is put into the DBB/FAB. This is worn 23 hours a day for 3 months then the hours are gradually reduced. There seems to be quite a bit of variation in how much the hours are reduced after the 23/7 period. Dr Ponseti recommends, I believe, doing 16/7 until the baby is walking at which point wear goes to 14-12/7. The DBB/FAB continues to be worn during sleeping hours for at least 3 years. Experienced doctors have recently been pushing for children to wear the DBB/FAB until they are 4 and even longer if they will tolerate it. The prognosis for children treated with this method is excellent. My son is 19 months old and he walks, runs, climbs and jumps like any other kid his age. Others in this group have older children who ski, play soccer, do ballet etc. There don't seem to be any particular limitaions due to the clubfoot. My son's feet look more and more " normal " every day(in particular, all that extra skin at his ankles is starting to go away). People who don't know about his feet would probably never guess there was ever anything wrong with them. In unilateral cases, there is often a size difference between the feet. I'm sorry if this is a long-winded answer to a fairly simple question you had. It does sound from your note that your son may not have had the tenotomy. This is sometimes, not always, a sign that your doctor is modifying the method. Which doctor are you seeing? How is your son doing in the DBB? How long does he wear it every day? How do his feet look to you? Here are some websites concerning the Ponseti method of treatment: Dr Ponseti's website at the University of Iowa: http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/orthopaedics/clubfeet/index.html Trevillian's very informative website includes a checklist for parents to assist in determining whether your doctor really is using the Ponseti method: http://pages.ivillage.com/ponseti_links/ http://pages.ivillage.com/ponseti_links/id13.html The Global-HELP booklet is full of information, it also contains graphic photos of surgical procedures: http://www.global-help.org/publications/cf-english.pdf I do hope this helps some. If what you were asking about is something else entirely, please let me know. This group is truly amazing. The breadth of experiences and the amount of goodwill, good humor and compassion are what keep me here. Welcome to you and Gabe! My family joins me in wishing you and yours all the best, Naomi The Family Naomi Hannah(02/21/01) Jonah(06/20/03, bilateral clubfoot, FAB 14/7) celestine843 celestine843@...> wrote: Hi everyone I hate to ask but for some reason I can barely read the previous posts, so I was wondering if someone could tell me about what happens after the tendon surgery,my son has been in the dbb for 3 weeks and I really don't know much after that. I think this board is so great, I have learned alot already. It has been a HUGE relief. Also what are the longer term effects of having the club foot, what is considered " normal " for them as they grow? Thank you all so much, Corrina from Ohio mother to Gabe right club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Thanks. OK now the only BIG red flag I see is the going from wearing the bar for 23/7 then jumping directly down to nights only. That's a good indicator your baby could suffer a relaspe very soon! It's pretty critical that your son wear the bar 23/7 for about three months, not 3 weeks.....and then the time is reduced very gradually as he grows. From 23 hours, to 18 hours, to 16 hours to 14 hours to perhaps 10 hours in the very last phase. Generally by the time he walks his time in the DBB would be a round the 14 hour per day mark. Has your doctor told you the DBB needs used religiously every day for approx 3 years? In some cases up to 4 years? The DBB is preventing relasp as the child grows and his bones harden, etc. What area do you live in, perhaps some on here could point you towards a Ponseti Doctor if Dr. Munk isn't one already....just for peace of mind. If your son's cf is bilateral (both feet) they'll probably both look just the same and be able to wear normal off the rack shoes, but if he is unilateral (one foot) fitting may be hard, there could be a small size difference between them but they will look pretty much the same I think. s. repeating > > > > > Hi everyone I hate to ask but for some reason I can barely read the > previous posts, so I was wondering if someone could tell me about > what happens after the tendon surgery,my son has been in the dbb for > 3 weeks and I really don't know much after that. I think this board > is so great, I have learned alot already. It has been a HUGE relief. > Also what are the longer term effects of having the club foot, what > is considered " normal " for them as they grow? > Thank you all so much, > Corrina from Ohio > mother to Gabe right club > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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