Talipes (Club Foot)

[Spark]

My little boy of 4 months has bilateral talipes equinovarus (club foot in both feet, as serious as it comes) which will need a couple of operations in a few months time followed by 3 months in plaster casts. I'm not sure what to expect once he is in casts - amount of pain, effect on routines and sleep, effect on development, nappy changing, effect on temperament, etc. Has anyone been through this? Any good advice?

spark, i know somebody who had one child with one affected foot and one with both; they are both fine now, aged 9 and 11 i think, i will ask their mum next time i see her if she has any helpful advice for you.
they seemed to adapt pretty well to their pots though one of them was quite a bit older than yours when she had her surgery.

Thanks! Having come to terms with the condition and understanding the treatment, it is now the practical aspects I need to get my head round!

spark, sorry to have been so long coming back to you but i've been out of circulation and have only just seen the friend with the 2 affected children.

the younger one is 9 now, so her experience is a while ago, but she looked faintly startled when i asked if there were any particular problems or if she had any advice! she said that as far as she can remember the babies just woke up and got on with it - once they'd recovered from the anaesthetic - it didn't bother them that they suddenly had pots on and they just got on with life as they had before. she didn't mention pain at all; i imagine that as far as daily routines etc are affected, anyone whose child has or has had a pot for any reason (do you know any? you could ask your HV if she does) could give you advice on management.

not terribly helpful i'm afraid, but reassuring i hope!

Janh. (Very) out of context question here... Are you from the North of the Country? Reason I ask is that people look at me as if I'm mad when I say 'pot' to mean cast. No-one even believes that it means what I say.

paula1 - well spotted! actually i'm not FROM here but have lived here for 18 years...i probably should not have said pot, not knowing where spark is from! (i was completely flummoxed by it myself the first time i heard it...)

so, spark, when i say pot i mean plaster cast!

I love this mumsnet talk.It is extreamly usufull to talk to other parents about anythings,well almost anythings.I am still new with internet,while I know there plenty of chat rooms,which I do not fancy,it like typing down the phone.I much prefer this format of mumsnet,which is like writting a letter.Is there any other net talk which is similiar like this but not restricted to parents stuff?Will the others parents please type me the addresses.

try the bbc - it has dozens of talkboards just like this about loads of different tv and radio programmes and just general topics. go to bbc.co.uk, choose a programme website from the drop-down list, then when you get to the programme's homepage there's a list of things on the left-hand-side including message boards.

oops - wrong again - they don't all have message boards! anyway have a play around there and see what you can find!