Re: Re: Measuring for bar length (Kori and Kim)

[Guest guest]

Dawn,

I just took a look at your pictures (what a sweet, cute little boy you have!)

and it looks to me like that bar is far too short. And probably pretty

uncomfortable. It doesn't look like you can get the shoes any farther apart on

that bar. Do you know whether they make a longer bar? (I took a quick look at

the Mayzaud website, but did not readily come up with information on the

shoes/bar.) It's very common for doctors/orthotists to not be aware of the very

simple fact that we have learned here: most children are most comfortable when

their FAB is set up so that the distance between their heels is the same as the

width of their shoulders. You saw for yourself the difference a larger pair of

shoes made...

It's an interesting brace set-up, and one I've never seen before. Is the bar

made of plastic? It's not standard protocol to have the clubfoot set at only 30

degrees--though sometimes, this is done on a case-by-case basis. How does

Mathieu's foot look to you? Does it look very much like his other foot? Do you

have any pictures of his feet you could share with us?

I take it that you are in Europe (France? I lived in the Haute Savoie for 9

years). There are a few other FAB options for you there that you might want to

explore if your physician insists that Mathieu is just fine in the shorter bar.

The brace is available through Stella at c-prodirect in GB:

http://www.c-prodirect.co.uk/

Please let us know if there are other things we can help you trouble-shoot.

Naomi

The Family, North Coast of California

Naomi Hannah(2/21/1) Jonah(6/20/3, corrected BCF, FAB 12-14/7)

dszarke wrote: Hi Kori and

Kim,

Read you message this morning and it's the exact same question I

have. My son has a left clubfoot only--set at 30degrees w/ a full

tilt and the right is also set at 30degrees w/ no tilt. My son has

the DBB or what is on the bar is actually " UNI-Bar " and open toe

shoes (Mayzaud). He has been in w/ the DBB since Feb and is now

6months old today. He only required 2 castings since his foot was

a " soft " deformity.

What he has been having problems w/ lately is getting comfortable at

night and at naptime since he wants to sleep on his side. I have

tried to show him how to sleep w/ his bar propped on the side of the

crib, and even tried to put a blanket between his legs for support

trying to get him comfortable. He continues to wake at night...I've

ruled out other causes such as teething, gas pains, and too warm.

When I initially lay him in bed he goes for the side lying position.

I thought the bar length was possibly to be the problem but was

unsure about how to measure the length.

Using the advise from Kori, I measured his bar

shoulders: 23 cm

screw to screw: 23 1/2 cm

heel to heel (inside): 17 1/2 cm

Last night I took some pics to show since I've been looking at him

and wondering if he is actually comfortable...his knees extend out

past his ankles and his foot left foot is tilted up. Sometimes his

legs seem sensitive if I need to remove his bar in the middle of the

night to change his diaper.

I asked my doctor about how to determine bar length since we will not

see him until Oct (the next follow-up appt). He basically told me he

will not require a new bar. My son is a big little guy (19# at

6months and wears 12-18mo clothes) and I'm concerned we will be

running into some comfort issues between now and then and would like

to be sure.

I trust our MD to some extent, but w/ the appliances I don't trust

him. We ran into the same problem w/ his shoes...he told me he would

not require new shoes, even though his toes were extending from his

shoes and his foot had been in the same shoes for the previous 3

months. It came down to comfort one night and I had to remove his

shoes for most of the night. The following day we got new shoes for

my son. (The ladies at the shoe store said definitely he needed new

shoes.) It made a huge difference!

I put 3 pics under photos (Mathieu) ...would you mind, Kori, looking

at them for me and letting me know what your thoughts are?

Thanks,

Dawn

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