I posted this in the special needs forum and no one with experience with it posted.

My sister's baby girl (born 3/3) has club feet. They meet with the Pediatric orthopedist in about 3 weeks. Any suggestions for what they might expect?

Nobody?

My neighbor's son had club feet. He was in a cast (I think they called it a hip harness) when I first met them at about 3 months old. Then he had braces on at about a year old. He had to have the major sx where they broke his leg and shortened and lengthened the tendons to straighted out the leg. He was in a cast for 3 months after that and also in a wheelchair. He was to have sx on the other leg but the leg straightened on its own. I know that his feet are not growing as quickly as a "normal" child but other than that he's doing great. You'd never know he ever had a problem. HTH

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Megan

Thanks.

My nephew had pretty serious club foot too. He had casts that were changed weekly for the first year I think. He had to wear a thing that braced his feet in position all the time until he was a year or so, then it was on at night for two years. We called it his skateboard - he had little white shoes and then the metal "board". He did learn to crawl with his feet like that- it was interesting looking, but he was sure mobile!

He's 4 now, and just had the surgery for his tendons.

Before he had the surgery, he ran around like a maniac - you'd never know there was a problem. He wasn't supposed to walk with the cast, but tell that to a 3 year old. He's back to running around again, and I think he's doing little kid gymnastics now - or at least his "big" sister was teaching him. He was doing summersaults when he was up here a few months ago.

He had stage 4 and 5 clubfoot - severe enough that the doctor suggested my sister terminate the pregnancy when they found out. Obviously she didn't and man, we are glad she didn't!

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I haven't met my niece yet and have no concept of how severe it is. They got a new apt with the orthopedist for Monday (YAY!) and hopefully they will get some answers.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We are hoping and praying that anything that needs to be done can be done while she is little enough to not remember it.

I dont really have any experience with this personally but I knew someone in highschool who had club feet as a baby. It was all corrected during his first few years with surgery and braces. You couldnt even tell. And this was the early 80's. Now, who knows. It's probably way better. Good luck!