Re: adjustment to Denis Brown brace

[Guest guest]

Tom,

If a child's feet are properly corrected, the shoes applied correctly

and the brace is set up right it really should only take a couple

days, maybe a week at the most for the baby to get used to the brace.

Of course you don't want your baby to not sleep or eat for a week,

but it could take that long for him to really be his normal self. Is

he really crying an I'm in pain cry, or is it more of an I don't like

this cry? Have you been taking the shoes off and re-applying them

every 4 hours or so to check for blisters or sore spots?

If you feel confident that all is well with fit and his feet look

great, I would wait another day and see how it goes. If you are not

sure or you really feel he is in pain, not just mad about the brace,

we can definitely help you troubleshoot to see what the problem(s)

might be.

Hope this helps,

Mom to Jenna (4/7/01) & Sammy (9/25/04, RCF, Dobbs' brace, 12-14hrs/day)

>

> Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown braces from

> casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of casting),

> and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24 hours, but

> he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering if others

> could share their experiences with these braces. We want to hang on

> with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do if we had a

> better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very interested in

> how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that took.

>

> Thanks,

> Tom

>

[Guest guest]

,

I think it's some of both. For one thing, his feet are somewhat

swollen from the last set of casts, and we're having to tighten the

braces really tight to keep him from pulling his feet out. Actually,

we're still trying to figure that out. I think we're getting the foot

in all the way initially, but no matter how tight we make it he still

manages to slide his heal at least part way up (but then can't get it

back down). We have the strap in the lower slots and on the eigth

hole in from end (the orthopedist had it in upper slot on one side,

and 5-6 holes in), and I don't think it will go any tighter. We got

the socks with the rubber grips on the bottom as well. All that has

helped, but hasn't eliminated the sliding.

By the way, what did/do you do for carseats? The brace doesn't fit in

the one we have.

Thanks again,

Tom

> >

> > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown braces from

> > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of casting),

> > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24 hours, but

> > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering if others

> > could share their experiences with these braces. We want to hang on

> > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do if we had a

> > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very interested in

> > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that took.

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Tom

> >

>

[Guest guest]

The two biggest culprits in a baby being able to pull his feet out of

the shoes is not being totally corrected and having a bar that is too

short. As far as correction goes, does he have good dorsiflexion

(10-15 degrees)? And was his last cast abducted to about 70 degrees?

It sounds like you guys have really got the shoes on tight this is

good. When you are putting the shoes on are you taking them off the

bar and then applying the shoes and then putting the bar back on?

This is helpful and easy to do if you have a gold bar, the red bar is

not as easy but doable. When you put the foot in the shoe you have to

really push his heel down deep in the heel pocket, it helps if you

bend the knee and push down on the knee and dorsiflex the foot while

you are putting it on. As for bar length, check to see if the heels

of the shoes are shoulder width apart - some people measure bolt to

bolt but some babies are just more comfortable with the heels of the

shoes the same width as the shoulders. There's a picture of how to

measure this in the tips document. Have you seen the tips document

yet? You can find it here:

http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles\

/fab_tips_10_05_05.pdf

Well, I hope some of this helps; just hang in there and we will help

you figure this out because he should not be slipping out of the shoes.

> > >

> > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown braces from

> > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of casting),

> > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24 hours, but

> > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering if others

> > > could share their experiences with these braces. We want to hang on

> > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do if we had a

> > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

interested in

> > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that took.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > > Tom

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My child never adjusted to them, he was put into two different times the first

time was 8 days then back in cast for two months then they tried them for 3

weeks they made adjustments nothing worked he cried all the time didn't eat much

at all lost weight both time, so the second time I started to look around for a

second opinion which we go to see Dr. Dobbs at Shriners hospital in St. Louis.

Been there two times he in the Dobbs brace now for 9 days its been amazing the

difference the two braces are not no problems so far we go back on April 24 for

a month check up. Any questions you can email me at bltarver@...

Larissa and 7-15-05

tomasrbraun wrote:

Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown braces from

casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of casting),

and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24 hours, but

he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering if others

could share their experiences with these braces. We want to hang on

with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do if we had a

better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very interested in

how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that took.

Thanks,

Tom

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the help. We've been going over the tips document, and

that's been helping. He was getting a pressure sore, so we just got

the Markell shoes with the hole in the back. In so doing, we also

confirmed what we had wondered about before. Our son's feet are not

flat -- every since they started casting, the bottom of them has been

round. Thus, we have the bottom of the feet in the shoes, but the

heels are not on the soles.

As for correction, I think we were near 70 degrees in the last cast.

I'm not sure if we were exactly there or not. However, the feet point

down some when not in the casts -- is that what they should be?

The shoulder to shoulder and heel to heel measurements seems similar,

but shoulder to shoulder is less than bolt to bolt. He's adjusting a

little better to them, but still not great, and he still screams in

pain during and a while after we put them on.

Thanks again for the help.

Tom

> > > >

> > > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown braces from

> > > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of

casting),

> > > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24

hours, but

> > > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering if others

> > > > could share their experiences with these braces. We want to

hang on

> > > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do if we

had a

> > > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

> interested in

> > > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that took.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks,

> > > > Tom

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Tom,

I agree with Kori about the rounded appearance of the heel, this is

normal. But what about the dorsiflexion?, you said that his feet

point downwards when out of the shoes. If you hold him up in a weight

bearing position will his feet go flat on the floor (aside from the

heel being rounded up)? Pushing up on the bottom of his foot with the

palm of your hand, how far past neutral will it go? You should be

able to get 10-15 degrees of dorsiflexion. It concerns me that he is

still screaming when you put the shoes on, this sounds like either he

is not fully corrected and the shoes are causing him pain or the

pressure is still not off that sore he was starting to get. As for

the holed shoes, sometimes this helps and sometimes it doesn't. Check

to see where the sore is in relation to the hole. If it is still

being pushed on by any part of the shoe it will not get better, only

worse. You can check this by putting a slick bandaid on the pressure

sore and then coloring a large spot on it with a washable marker.

Then apply the shoes (without socks), if you put them on as you

normally do then the marker spot will transfer to the inside of the

shoe and you'll be able to see exactly what part of the shoe is

rubbing him. If you see the marker spot on the bandaid in the hole in

the back of the shoe then you know that the pressure is off the

existing sore.

Tom, this group does not accept attachments but if you'd like to join

our CFPics group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFPics/

you can share pictures of his feet and we can give you our, albeit

unprofessional, but experienced, opinion of the correction. The

pictures that show correction the best are as follows:

1) from front/top view, standing bearing weight.

2) from back (straight on), standing bearing weight.

3) 1 of the sole of foot/feet

4) 1 of each foot with you using your palm to push foot as far up past

" L " from the side (profile). This shows dorsiflexion.

When you join CFPics look for the little survey in the email you'll

receive, once you complete that and send it back you can be approved

for membership right away.

BTW, who is your son's doctor?

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown

braces from

> > > > > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of

> >casting),

> > > > > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24

> >hours, but

> > > > > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering if

others

> > > > > > could share their experiences with these braces. We want to

> >hang on

> > > > > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do if we

> >had a

> > > > > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

> > > interested in

> > > > > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that took.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Thanks,

> > > > > > Tom

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Tom,

Kori who is one of our 'shoe & sore experts' here has given you some

good advise. It is totally normal for the heel to be a bit 'mushy'

until baby starts really cruisin and then walking. This helpes/forces

the bone down into the heel socket. I really started noticing our

daughter Gracies heel start to firm up once she started to walk - it

will happen. Also, after a few weeks in the shoes, the foot should

sit much flatter in them.

I think that the additional plastizoid insert is a good idea and it

should help his foot to not raise out of the shoe for the first few

weeks. Remember, this really does/will get easier! After a few

months, you really don't even have to think about it when you put the

FAB on.

I also wanted to invite you to join the CFpics site if you haven't

already. This board supports pictures so that we can share pics of

our kids feet/the brace and their sweet faces too . While we are

not doctors, there are lots of parents here who are able to tell if a

foot has been fully corrected. It is also a good place to post a pic

of the brace if a parent has any question of proper set up etc. There

is a short survey to be filled out and returned. Here is the link

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFPics/

& Grace 20mos

urcf FAB 13hrs

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown

braces from

> > > > > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of

> >casting),

> > > > > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24

> >hours, but

> > > > > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering

if others

> > > > > > could share their experiences with these braces. We want

to

> >hang on

> > > > > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do

if we

> >had a

> > > > > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

> > > interested in

> > > > > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that

took.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Thanks,

> > > > > > Tom

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Thanks, I've just submitted my membership request to the other group,

and I'm wishing I had found this group sooner.

Thanks for explaining dorsification. I get about 10% I'm estimating.

As for the sore, I can't tell where it is through the socks but it

hasn't got any worse in the last two days so I'm thinking we got it.

The heal is up and sloping at about 20% or so down until the front of

the foot is flat on the shoe. We called to ask his orthopedist about

it, and he wants to see him Monday to check it out.

I'll try to post some pictures later once accepted to the CFPics group.

Tom

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown

> braces from

> > > > > > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of

> > >casting),

> > > > > > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24

> > >hours, but

> > > > > > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering

> if others

> > > > > > > could share their experiences with these braces. We want

> to

> > >hang on

> > > > > > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do

> if we

> > >had a

> > > > > > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

> > > > interested in

> > > > > > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that

> took.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Thanks,

> > > > > > > Tom

> > > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Tom,

did you send back the survey after you submitted your membership request?

allison

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown

> > braces from

> > > > > > > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then another 4 of

> > > >casting),

> > > > > > > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24

> > > >hours, but

> > > > > > > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering

> > if others

> > > > > > > > could share their experiences with these braces. We want

> > to

> > > >hang on

> > > > > > > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier to do

> > if we

> > > >had a

> > > > > > > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

> > > > > interested in

> > > > > > > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that

> > took.

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > Thanks,

> > > > > > > > Tom

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

[Guest guest]

Tom,

Sorry if I missed this in an earlier post, but did you tell us who

your son's doctor is?

Are they using the Ponseti method?

We're happy to have you here and hope we can help you out!

Regards,

& (3-16-00, left clubfoot)

[Guest guest]

,

Just got it 5 minutes ago, and so just now returned now. Of course, I

just got to go to sleep, so I'll wait till he wakes up to take

his braces off and take a couple pictures.

Thanks,

Tom

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > Our 2 1/2 month old just graduated to the denis brown

> > > braces from

> > > > > > > > > casts (after 6 weeks of casting/tenotomy/then

another 4 of

> > > > >casting),

> > > > > > > > > and so far is not liking them at all. It's only been 24

> > > > >hours, but

> > > > > > > > > he's barely ate or slept in that time. I was wondering

> > > if others

> > > > > > > > > could share their experiences with these braces. We

want

> > > to

> > > > >hang on

> > > > > > > > > with his treatment, but I think it would be easier

to do

> > > if we

> > > > >had a

> > > > > > > > > better of idea of what to expect. At present, I'm very

> > > > > > interested in

> > > > > > > > > how other kids have adjusted to them and how long that

> > > took.

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > Thanks,

> > > > > > > > > Tom

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >