Anthony's Treatment

• March 04 - Found out at routine 20 week scan that baby had clubfeet
• Referred to St George’s hospital in Tooting for further scans and amnio test – 2 weeks later, all test results clear
• At 30 weeks, had further scan to see if any signs of neurological damage – clear
• Did tons of research – mainly on the internet – decided we wanted our child to be treated using the Ponseti method
• Why we chose the Ponseti method
• Sought out a Ponseti trained consultant – met with him and he agreed to treat our baby when he was born
• Began to feel hopeful that our baby would one day be able to walk

The birth

• Felt absolutely terrified about how I would feel when I saw the baby
• Scared I would ‘reject’ him when I saw his deformed feet
• This worried me more than anything else

But he was absolutely gorgeous!!!

Round 1 of treatment

• Treatment started when Anthony was 2 days old
• Weekly casts for 8 weeks
• Many casts slipped & needed redoing
• We began to have concerns at about week 5
• Tenotomy / 3 week casts at 7 weeks
• Casts did not look as expected – frequently slipping
• Feet could barely be abducted
• Very limited dorsiflexion
• Progress had stalled, yet we were preparing for a tenotomy

We felt our concerns were not taken on board – and that we were considered as troublesome internet parents! ….So we emailed photos to Dr Ponseti in America

Response from Dr Ponseti:

• Atypical clubfeet - short, stubby feet, puffy over the top deep medial side crease to the sole
• Atypical clubfeet often slip out of casts, even after tenotomy
• Strongly advised we ask Miss Naomi Davis (consultant in paediatric orthopaedic surgery) to treat Anthony
• Unlikely to do well in Markell shoe – recommended Mitchell’s

‘Atypical clubfeet’ was not something we had come across before in our research – we were worried, but glad someone had been able to address why Anthony’s feet were not responding as expected