The Ponseti method for treating children with clubfoot
Clubfoot is a condition that can affect a baby from birth in one or both feet. The signs of clubfoot include the:
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foot pointing downwards at the ankle
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heel turning inwards
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sole of the foot facing inwards
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foot and calf muscles in the affected foot will be smaller.
How will my child benefit from treatment at Bupa Cromwell Hospital?
The Ponseti team holds weekly clinics at Bupa Cromwell Hospital.
The service is run by leading consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeons Ms Alison Hulme and Mr Stuart Evans and specialist Ponseti Physiotherapy Practitioner Denise Watson.
If your baby has been diagnosed at an ante natal appointment with clubfoot
The Ponseti team will be very happy to meet you to discuss the treatment even before he or she is born. Ideally treatment should begin within a month of your baby’s birth.
What does the treatment involve?
At first, your baby’s foot will be manipulated at weekly intervals and then put in a plaster cast that goes up to his or her groin. This will help the foot gradually adopt a normal position. Most babies need an average of 5-6 casts for this to happen.
After six weeks of treatment
If your baby’s foot is still pointing downwards at the ankle, he or she may need to have an operation called a tenotomy. This procedure is carried out using local anaesthetic. The main ankle tendon is divided into two parts to fully correct the back of the foot. Your baby will go back into a cast for a further three weeks.
Once the foot is in the correct position
We will fit your baby with special boots. These are joined to each other by a bar to keep his or her feet steady and to help prevent muscles and ligaments tightening.
Your child will need to wear the boots for 23 hours a day for the first three months, then at night time and during naps, until five years of age. The team will continue to monitor your child’s foot as he or she grows and develops.
