Dilemma about brace hours...

April 1, 2006

is five months old and is one month away from ending her 23/7 brace wear.

She is bilateral. We visited her ortho yesterday and I asked about her big

toes, which have always rolled outward on the outer edges, causing them to curve

inward toward the rest of her toes. (if you can picture that) He expressed a

concern that, while the brace has not caused this issue with her toes since it

was present at birth, it is aggravating it with the degree of abduction her feet

are being held at. He wants her to be in the brace nights only starting after

our 23/7 brace wear is over, so that would be 12/7. Of course, that scared me

to death, but I do see his point, as well. The issue with the toes, if it

doesn't improve, will cause problems with shoes fitting properly and possibly

with the function of her feet. It is also an aesthetic issue, which is

secondary but must be at least considered. These toes make her feet look

deformed right now and I would hate for that to continue. But I don't want to

risk a relapse of her feet. It feels a bit like a catch 22.

I am very confused about what to do and think that I will email Dr. Ponseti

about this issue since he saw her in January. BTW, on a summary of our visit

which Dr. Ponseti's office sent to us after our January visit, he recommended

that she wear the brace " full time for 2 1/2 months, then 18/7, then 16/7 " but

doesn't specify for how long she is to wear the brace at each interval. Given

this advice, I feel that we could reduce to 18/7 after our full-time wear is

over.

Any thoughts? I am still pondering all of this and feeling like the weight of

this decision rests all on me....a bit overwhelming! Thanks in advance,

Carol and , 10-27-05, bcf, s 23/7 for one more month

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