Talipes at 20 week scan

[onedayatatime73]

Am in a panic - can anyone advise/ help?

Baby was seen to have talipes in one foot today. No other irregularities I din't think.

What does this mean? Can it be corrected ? Is it likely to be something more serious?

Am wiating for follow up scan with consultant - not sure when - for further info. What will happen at this scan? What should I ask?

Sorry for all the questions but am massively freaked out

[LadySybildeChocolate]

Hi I've nursed babies with this. It just means that one of your babies feet hasn't developed in the right way, it's also known as 'club foot'. They can usually correct it by putting your baby's leg into a plaster. I can understand why you're worried, they will do another scan to work out what angle your baby's foot is at, and take it from there.

[Northernlurker]

Talipes is a very correctable problem. As Lady Sybil says it will be treated by the use of plaster casts. I know a child who had this in both feet to a severe degree. He had plenty of plaster casts and a couple of ops - and he plays football now like any other boy.

DON'T PANIC!

[ohwhatever]

Dd had positional talipes in both feet diagnosed at birth but as it was mild we were just advised to do some gentle exercises every day and followed up with a physio for a few months. She is 2 now, walking and running and feet have looked normal for ages. As the posters above said, plaster casts may also be used if it's more serious but it may be that you don't even need that? Hope they can reassure you and explain more at follow up scan.

[MeerkatMerkin]

My DS had this diagnosed at 20 weeks also. He was referred to the physio after birth and wore correctional shoes from 3-6 months (not walking then obviously!) but we moved and fell out of the system. However, we were shown how to do massage to 'bend' the feet into the right direction and continued with this. When we picked up the physio again in our new area she was pleased with his progress and couldn't foresee issues with walking etc. He began to walk shortly after this and it doesn't cause him problems, as the physio said he is just very flexible in his feet. It is common with this condition to be double jointed elsewhere but we see no evidence of that in him yet!

Depending on the severity it can be treated in various ways but I think it's always correctable, even left untreated. The sonographer who diagnosed it actually had it herself and with no treatment can walk perfectly normally, do sports etc. It has never caused my DS any pain.

Don't worry, it isn't serious. Go to the GP for a referral to the physio as soon as baby is born and take it from there.

[Jenniferturkington]

Don't panic!
Ds (5) was born with severe talipes of both feet. He is now on yearly checkups and a very active boy with nothing noticeable about his feet. He has recently taken up rock climbing!

We didn't get it picked up on the 20 week scan, so were spared the worry about it being linked to other conditions. The vast majority of talipes cases are not linked to anything else. If nothing else was picked up on the scan then please try not to worry.

There are a couple of things worth knowing in advance of birth. There isa treatment method called the Posetti method- this is what previous posters have been referring to with plaster casts. It's a very very effective treatment, but not all hospitals do it (preferring surgery). You should check that you can get to a Posetti clinic- where in the country are you?

Please PM me with any questions, happy to advise and also happy to show you pics of my ds's feet before/during/ after treatment.

[Jenniferturkington]

Just to pick up on something previous posters have mentioned. Positional talipes is where the feet have grown in this position due to some sort of constraint in the womb. This is usually correctable with physio and excersise. The talipes my ds had was congenital I.e. genetic, and means that it can't just be corrected with excersises. As far as I know, they can't tell what type of talipes it is until the baby is born.

[onedayatatime73]

Thank you so much for your responses. I think this will be congenital rather than positional - as am only 20 weeks so still lots of room - baby isn't squashed as it were.
Jennifer - will try to pm you now - but not done it before!

[onedayatatime73]

How do I pm from an iPhone?!

[Northernlurker]

I don't think you can PM from phones. I didn't realise the Ponseti method wasn't universal. My friend's dc had that plus surgery as his was quite complex. But fixable