Clubfoot / Talipes

We've known for about 6 weeks now that our baby has clubfoot (talipes). We weren't at all phased by this as the GP and sonographers all said it was no big deal and was easily corrected.

Fast forward to now, and we've had our tertiary scan. Apparently it's only one foot, instead of both which they originally thought which is great. However after speaking to the midwife we're both really concerned about what's actually going to happen after the birth.

The midwife seemed pretty sure there was going to be surgery required, which really freaks me out. I'm trying to stay positive but we're really worried about what the treatments might actually be like to deal with as parents. Don't get me wrong we accept the situation and will do whatever it takes to make sure bubby doesn't have any long term issues with his/her feet or walking, but we're a bit freaked out about what this might all mean.

As far as we know it doesn't look very severe, and when they showed us both feet on 3d u/s I would have to say the affected foot looked very normal, just a little bendy. After having a mc at 8 weeks and now this, I'm having a bit of a 'poor me' moment and wondering why we can't just have a trouble free road to parenthood.

I'm a little worried about how we might cope with the added strain of all the medical procedures when I'm supposed to be recovering from birth and adjusting to being a first time mum.

My question is this: Has anybody here had a baby with talipes and can you tell me exactly what the treatments were like to care for, how the baby coped with plasters etc, and how did it all turn out in the end?

TIA

I had a customer when I was in retail who's son had a club foot. He walked at 15 months and it was a rather severe club where he only had a small toe and the rest of the foot looked flat. Sorry I can't be more help but I thought you'd like to know his walking development wasn't affected
HTH hun and GL

mine is not personal experience but only from what i have learnt through my best friend whose son has quite severe clubfoot in both feet.

Her experience has been that he has had an operation to snip the tight tendons that were pulling his heel up into the ankle. this was in hospital terms a small operation (of course for the parents it was a bit daunting and scary) and has been in plaster cast to correct the alignment. he has undergone several x-rays over the course of the treatment (as i guess you would of been told) to ensure that the rate of the re-alignment of the foot is right and is heading in the right direction.
One thing that they do find hard emotionally beyond the medical side of things is the lack of chances to have baths. so the moment the casts come off for an xray they are quickly whipping him into the bathroom for some water action :).
Also, his mum reckons it is a bit of a PITA as the moment he poos there is staining at the top of the casts. but there isnt much to be done about that apparently...much to her annoyance!

this bub has been in his casts for 5 months, but his condition is particulary severe and has required a further more intrusive operation that apparently is not common. i vaguely remember her saying about 8 weeks ago that they were meant to come off, but then they found that the tightening of the tendons was getting worse, so i guess in a more straightforward scenario his time in casts for both feet would of been around the 3 month mark...

hth xx

Hi forshelby, sorry to hear that you are having a rough time of it all not knowing what to expect. You could pop into the childrens medical conditions and you should be able to find a thread there about club foot. (I'll try find it).

All my dds have had tallipes... not club though, so nothing requiring surgery. DD1 had inward on both and also had hip dysplasia requiring a pavlik harness untill 8 moths old and like kids with club, she required sponge bathing, so we missed out on the regular baths for ages (like Cassius mentioned about her friend)
DD2 and DD3 have had calcanious vagus (sorry I dont know the spelling) on 1 foot. To explain it in simple terms, its where the top of the foot rests on the outer par of the calf and looks all twisted. These arent seen in u/s so they are positional. DD2 is now 2 and you cant tell at all and she walked from 13 months. DD3 is 7 weeks and her foot is coming down to correct position mostly on its own but we have had to do so physio on it.

A friend of mines nephew had club foot and like cassius' friend had to have corrective surgery, followed by plaster and a boot for a while and his development was fine.

Sorry its long winded but I suppose what I am saying is that its very daunting to think your baby has to have surgery. Its nothing you have done, so dont blame yourself. I know you want a trouble free journey but you just have a few bumps to get over. As hard as it will be while your in the midst of it, time will fly by and it will be all over with before you know it. I remember crying with dd1 when she was put in the harness and every time we went for a review and she had to stay longer in it I would cry. Funny thing was she coped better than me! Whenthey suggested dd2 needed one I fell to pieces! Now dd3 has a bung foot I just looked at it and thought...well this is my journey and if this is the worst that I can be given I am greatful.

Ok enough rambling...Ive only had a few hours sleep. I will find that thread for you:) All the best hun


edit.... I could only find this before the girls wake up and I havent read it but looks like theres some infor in it regarding club foot

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ore-27234.html

I think its in the special needs section...sorry!

I was born with severe talipes equinas (club feet) in both feet. I had plasters from about day 3 and surgeries later on.

As there is a genetic aspect to talipes, i looked into the treatments today (cos mine were 30 years ago). Get a dr that is familiar with the Ponsetti treatment for clubfeet. This is based on physio, plasters or strapping and then special boots that are worn overnight. Surgery is sometimes required but is not the main focus.

The surgery that i had as a child has created more issues as an adult so i would get a couple of opinions before operating, and try the non-surgical methods first.

THere are a couple of good websites that i will PM you

take care,

Kate

I have two friends whom have noth had sons with Talipes. The first one only required physiotherpay twice to correct it so by the time he was a few weeks old his feet were fine.

The second friend's son had a much more severe case. He was diagnosed before birth and they knew his were serious. They said he would require surgery and did have multiple trips to Sydney from his rural home to be fitted with special boots that he did have to wear most of the time (even in bed) with only a few hours break from them. He is now 3 and it looks like he has evaded surgery. They were keen to operate but his mummy wasn't keen on that idea and persurvered with other methods of fixing his legs. When he was about 18months old I could notice as he walked differently to what you would expect him to (Drs said he wouldn't walk until they were fixed which was a load of bull) anyway now at 3 you can't tell by his mobility. And he did have a severe case.
After bub is born if you want someone to talk to my friend would most likely be happy to get me to pass her email address to you and let you know what it was like for them. Probably not a good idea at this stage however as it does sound like your bubba has a more mild case so treatment is most likely different to what my friends son was.

My friends son had bilateral congenital talipes.

Your inbox is full!

Here are the sites anyway.

Steps Charity : Home THis is a UK site but heaps of good info. The forum people are really friendly.


Aussie Clubfoot Kids THis is an Aussie site which might be helpful for local contacts


take care

my dd is 6 days old, and a midwife mentioned she had 'positional talipes', not an issue... mild... will fix itself... however, given my history (I had severe bilat talipes as did one sibling) I know importance ofearlytreatment when needed and am wondering if I should get it checked out by someone more experienced in this area.

wdyt?

Our eldest had positional talipes and when he was 2 days old he'd had x-rays and an othopaedic surgeon appointment. He did say that it was only positional and that physio and time would correct it, but he did want a follow up just in case it didn't. In hindsight, the x-ray and surgeon were overkill but being first time parents with one of those parents having a genetic skeletal condition that he'd passed on to the baby (brachydactyly of the hands) my Dr kinda hit panic stations. I think because he'd never seen the condition before and combined with the talipes I think he wanted to cover all bases. Maybe just take bub to a podiatrist first? They will be a lot gentler than anyone else or maybe a physio and see how it goes.