Adults with Clubfoot

Are you an adult with Clubfoot?

Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot points downward and turns inward. Clubfoot occurs in 1 out of 1000 births. Ideally, treatment of clubfoot should begin around a week after birth.

That’s when the bones, ligaments and tendons are still soft and can be easily moved into the correct position. However, treatment doesn’t happen for all babies.

Sometimes clubfoot goes untreated during childhood and even adulthood. It is also possible that adults with clubfoot got improper treatment when they were young.

Adults with clubfoot appear to be walking on their ankles or on sides of their feet. Clubfoot makes it impossible to buy normal shoes or walk without difficulty. This is because people with clubfoot find that their foot never flatly touches the ground.

While the Ponseti method is recommended for babies and children, the Ilizarov Method works best for adults.

In the Ilizarov method, wires are placed through bone of the clubfoot and attached to an external fixator, which is slowly adjusted at home by the patient after receiving instructions from the doctor.

The process is sort of like braces moving the teeth into alignment. The external fixator, which is attached to the leg, gradually moves the bones inside the clubfoot to the correct position.

This external fixator normally stays on clubfoot for about 5-6 months. When the external fixator is removed surgically, a surgeon puts a below-knee cast on the patient’s foot for about 2-3 months to hold the corrected foot in place.

Although the external fixator is somewhat cumbersome at first, it has resulted in straightening clubfeet for adults and sparing them a lifetime of deformity.

The Ilizarov method is a great alternative to other types surgery for adult clubfoot, which can cause nerve and blood vessel damage.

If you or someone you know is suffering from adult clubfoot, there is help available. You need not go through life with this disability with today’s technology and medical care.

Our office sees infants, children and adults with clubfoot. We are experts in using the Ilizarov method to correct adult clubfeet. Please call our office today.