Re: I'd love to hear from you if you've had the att surgery

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry it's looking that way but as far a surgery on clubfeet goes, this one

is fairly simple (the ATTT). My oldest son had it done when he was 2, nearly 5

years ago. He had to stay off his feet a few weeks - no weight bearing on the

feet but he could crawl. I used a child size wheel chair and found it easier

than any kind of stroller and at your boy's age he should be able to move it

himself to a certain degree for freedom.

Most kids are back on their feet with in a few days to a week afterwards I

believe. Kind of depends on the kid. Mine was up in no time.

He was in pain meds in the hospital and tylanol when he came home but all in all

the pain did not seem horrible-horrible after a couple days. Being in the

hospital was worse than being in pain for him; once he was out of the hospital

he regained himself pretty quick.

I hope things work out you don't go through it, but if you do, just know it

could be a lot worse. Best of luck!

shawnee

I'd love to hear from you if you've had the att

surgery

Hello. I think I'm over the initial shock that Dr. P. thinks Calvin

may need the att surgery in 4-6 months, now I've accepted it and am

trying to plan/mentally prepare in the event that we do.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has been through it. How long do

they stay off their feet afterwards? Can they use crutches or so they

scoot around (he is 4 1/2)? Do they stay on pain medication for

awhile? Did you have it done in Iowa City? Did you have follow-up

done there also? How long until they can walk or run afterwards?

Anything else you can tell me that would be helpful.

We are not sure yet if he will need it on 1 or both feet, if we end up

needing it.

Thanks. Jen

[Guest guest]

Jen,

I don't have any advice really but just wanted to let you know that

you aren't alone. We have known for about a year that was

going to be needing the ATTT. I just found out on the 17th that the

time is coming soon. We have an appt with Dr. Morcuende on April

10 so that he can look at her and we can set up a surgery date.

is about the same age as Calvin (maybe a couple of months

younger) I have no idea how she is going to handle this but I

remember thinking the same thing about the first sets of casts and

the FAB and she came through all of that just fine.

I think the hardest part will be keeping them off the casts.... My

husband and I have thought about making a seatbelt for the

wheelchair!!! LOL

We will be having the surgery done in Iowa City. We just moved to

Iowa a little over 6 mos ago. We have about a 2 hour drive up

there, but it is alot better than the drive from California that we

were having to do. I heard that they are there overnight in the

hospital and casts for about 6 weeks.

I am still having a difficult time processing it all.... even with

being able to prepare for it for over a year.

I hope that everything goes well for you and Calvin!

in Iowa, mommy to 11/12/01 4yrs., bilateral clubfoot

>

> I'm sorry it's looking that way but as far a surgery on clubfeet

goes, this one is fairly simple (the ATTT). My oldest son had it

done when he was 2, nearly 5 years ago. He had to stay off his

feet a few weeks - no weight bearing on the feet but he could

crawl. I used a child size wheel chair and found it easier than any

kind of stroller and at your boy's age he should be able to move it

himself to a certain degree for freedom.

>

> Most kids are back on their feet with in a few days to a week

afterwards I believe. Kind of depends on the kid. Mine was up in

no time.

>

> He was in pain meds in the hospital and tylanol when he came home

but all in all the pain did not seem horrible-horrible after a

couple days. Being in the hospital was worse than being in pain for

him; once he was out of the hospital he regained himself pretty

quick.

>

> I hope things work out you don't go through it, but if you do,

just know it could be a lot worse. Best of luck!

>

> shawnee

> I'd love to hear from you if

you've had the att surgery

>

>

> Hello. I think I'm over the initial shock that Dr. P. thinks

Calvin

> may need the att surgery in 4-6 months, now I've accepted it and

am

> trying to plan/mentally prepare in the event that we do.

>

> I'd love to hear from anyone who has been through it. How long

do

> they stay off their feet afterwards? Can they use crutches or

so they

> scoot around (he is 4 1/2)? Do they stay on pain medication for

> awhile? Did you have it done in Iowa City? Did you have follow-

up

> done there also? How long until they can walk or run

afterwards?

> Anything else you can tell me that would be helpful.

>

> We are not sure yet if he will need it on 1 or both feet, if we

end up

> needing it.

>

> Thanks. Jen

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen,

Our daughter Emma was operated on in November of 2003 by Dr. Morcuende; she

had just turned four. It supposedly takes older children longer to regain

their ability to walk after the casts are removed. With Emma it took well

over a week before she could walk and even then she was wobbly for several

days after her " first steps " . Once she was walking alot she developed pain

which at times required Tylenol but Dr. Morcuende assured us that it was all

normal. The muscles in her feet were experiencing the same kind of soreness

that we might experience after engaging in a physical activity we haven't

done in a while. Not all kids are affected this way but age does make a

difference.

As for follow-ups, we send videos to Iowa every six months and are in the

process of getting a new local doctor (Ponseti practitioner) from the

Montreal Shriners.

Though there is some pain associated with the surgery, by far the toughest

part was keeping Emma entertained for six weeks.

Something to consider when travelling by car is to fit some sort of support

for Calvin's feet to rest on. When Emma was is her car seat we had a small

stepping stool on the floor of the car. She was alot more comfortable this

way and it prevented " pins and needles " .

If I think of anything else I'll let you know but feel free to ask more

questions.

Best of luck,

Dan

I'd love to hear from you if you've had the

att surgery

Hello. I think I'm over the initial shock that Dr. P. thinks Calvin

may need the att surgery in 4-6 months, now I've accepted it and am

trying to plan/mentally prepare in the event that we do.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has been through it. How long do

they stay off their feet afterwards? Can they use crutches or so they

scoot around (he is 4 1/2)? Do they stay on pain medication for

awhile? Did you have it done in Iowa City? Did you have follow-up

done there also? How long until they can walk or run afterwards?

Anything else you can tell me that would be helpful.

We are not sure yet if he will need it on 1 or both feet, if we end up

needing it.

Thanks. Jen

[Guest guest]

Hi Dan. A couple of questions. How are her feet now? Also are the

casts they wear like the ones they had on as babies (full leg?) Also

it sounds like she had the casts on for 6 weeks, were there any cast

changes or did you go back to Iowa after 6 weeks or just have them

taken off in Canada?

Jen

>

> Hi Jen,

>

> Our daughter Emma was operated on in November of 2003 by Dr.

Morcuende; she

> had just turned four. It supposedly takes older children longer to

regain

> their ability to walk after the casts are removed. With Emma it took

well

> over a week before she could walk and even then she was wobbly for

several

> days after her " first steps " . Once she was walking alot she

developed pain

> which at times required Tylenol but Dr. Morcuende assured us that it

was all

> normal. The muscles in her feet were experiencing the same kind of

soreness

> that we might experience after engaging in a physical activity we

haven't

> done in a while. Not all kids are affected this way but age does make a

> difference.

>

> As for follow-ups, we send videos to Iowa every six months and are

in the

> process of getting a new local doctor (Ponseti practitioner) from the

> Montreal Shriners.

>

> Though there is some pain associated with the surgery, by far the

toughest

> part was keeping Emma entertained for six weeks.

>

> Something to consider when travelling by car is to fit some sort of

support

> for Calvin's feet to rest on. When Emma was is her car seat we had a

small

> stepping stool on the floor of the car. She was alot more

comfortable this

> way and it prevented " pins and needles " .

>

> If I think of anything else I'll let you know but feel free to ask more

> questions.

>

> Best of luck,

> Dan

>

>

> I'd love to hear from you if you've

had the

> att surgery

>

>

> Hello. I think I'm over the initial shock that Dr. P. thinks Calvin

> may need the att surgery in 4-6 months, now I've accepted it and am

> trying to plan/mentally prepare in the event that we do.

>

> I'd love to hear from anyone who has been through it. How long do

> they stay off their feet afterwards? Can they use crutches or so they

> scoot around (he is 4 1/2)? Do they stay on pain medication for

> awhile? Did you have it done in Iowa City? Did you have follow-up

> done there also? How long until they can walk or run afterwards?

> Anything else you can tell me that would be helpful.

>

> We are not sure yet if he will need it on 1 or both feet, if we end up

> needing it.

>

> Thanks. Jen

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jen,

Her right foot is perfect but the left is about 85%. Emma was released from

the DBB before the age of two because her tendons were quite loose. Dr.

Ponseti was worried that she would remain overcorrected. After she was

released from the DBB her local ortho didn't notice her relapse. It started

very slowly and then accelerated so we tried casting again and eventually

went back to Iowa. For this reason her left foot has relapsed too much for a

full correction with just the ATTT. In spite of this Drs. Ponseti and

Morcuende don't feel that Emma needs anymore done on the foot since it's

fully functional. All this is to point out the reason for her left foot

being only 85% which is my subjective comparison to the right. Calvin's foot

will very likely respond better than Emma's did.

The casts were toe-to-groin, bent at the knees (90°) with the feet in

neutral position. There were no cast changes and the DBB was not required

after the casts were removed. I removed the casts at home with a small

manual saw. It's alot safer than it sounds and does the job very quickly.

Dan

I'd love to hear from you if you've

had the

> att surgery

>

>

> Hello. I think I'm over the initial shock that Dr. P. thinks Calvin

> may need the att surgery in 4-6 months, now I've accepted it and am

> trying to plan/mentally prepare in the event that we do.

>

> I'd love to hear from anyone who has been through it. How long do

> they stay off their feet afterwards? Can they use crutches or so they

> scoot around (he is 4 1/2)? Do they stay on pain medication for

> awhile? Did you have it done in Iowa City? Did you have follow-up

> done there also? How long until they can walk or run afterwards?

> Anything else you can tell me that would be helpful.

>

> We are not sure yet if he will need it on 1 or both feet, if we end up

> needing it.

>

> Thanks. Jen

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen,

My son Jake has had ATTT surgery done twice so I'm beginning to feel like an

expert at it. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can-- check back in

the posts, though, because I did send a couple replies out to other people

regarding surgery too.

~~How long do they stay off their feet afterwards? Jake was in a full-leg cast,

bent 90 degrees at the knee, for 6 weeks. The kids are to be nonweighbearing

for that time to ensure that the tendon heals correctly. Dr. Dietz told us that

if the kids put any weight on their cast (by standing or walking) they risk the

tendon pulling out of the bone. I have heard of many kids who have walked and

even ran in their casts, and they healed up just fine. Jake, on the other hand,

needed the ATTT done a second time because the tendon did pull out a little (we

aren't sure why that is; Jake only tried to stand on his cast leg a couple of

times). Jake understood a lot more when he had his second surgery and was very

careful not to stand on his cast leg.

~~Can they use crutches or so they scoot around (he is 4 1/2)? Jake just

crawled around on the floor. I suppose they could teach your child how to use

crutches or a walker, but that wasn't suggested for Jake. He got around just

fine and was able to climb up onto chairs etc by using his good leg.

~~Do they stay on pain medication for awhile? Jake was sent home with

prescriptions for both pain medication (I think it was lortab) and a muscle

relaxant (vistaril); I don't think either of them had refills but we were sent

home with plenty. The reason for the muscle relaxant is that people tend to

have muscle spasms when the leg is immobilized in a cast. Spasms were mainly an

issue for the first couple of days. In any case...we gave Jake his pain meds on

a schedule pretty much around the clock for the first 3 days, and then we

tapered back to before bed and naptime after that, and added in ibuprofen for

during the daytime if he complained of being uncomfortable.

~~Did you have it done in Iowa City? Jake's surgeon is Dr. Dietz who works at

the University of Iowa. He did both of Jake's surgeries.

~~Did you have follow-up done there also? Yes, Jake has all of his follow-ups

done there. We live in Cedar Rapids, about 30 min north of Iowa City, so it's

not a problem for us to get there.

~~How long until they can walk or run afterwards? Jake started walking again

about 3 or 4 days after his cast came off. I don't remember exactly when he

started running again. He did tire easily for at least a month after coming out

of his cast, until his leg got strong again.

Good luck to you and let me know if you have more questions.

Kassia

3/22/01 (Lt clubfoot, ATTT #2 Oct 2005)

and 11/22/02