Bilateral talipes at 20 week scan

[HannahMcHugh]

I found out my son has bilateral talipes at my 20 week scan. I don't really know what i want to ask because i have no idea what to expect, so if you could just share your experiences i would appreciate it. Thanks x

My daughter was born with a very mild talipes on her one foot. It didn’t need surgery thankfully.
Have they given you any info on what will happen when baby is born?

They said they won't know how bad it is until he's born. They wanted me to speak to a specialist but I've refused because i want to wait until he's born to see how severe it is. I could spend my whole pregnancy worrying with specialists banging on about the worst case scenario and it could turn out to be mild.

That’s of course up to you but sometimes arming yourself with all the facts can really help. Especially as you’ll know exactly what to expect, whichever treatment is necessary. Just helps you to prepare. Take care xx

As suggested by Armygirl, sometimes having all the info is good as you know what to expect. We knew our baby would need to be in NICU so we were given a tour and had different bits of equipment shown to us and explained before baby was born. It made the whole experience a lot less scary! So maybe having all the information about what may happen when your baby is born will be useful? Hope everything goes well for you and it’s a mild case.

I would ask the specialist about it rather than random people on the internet

One of DS friends was born with it, she had surgery and wore a boot/ support when she was younger. Now age 9 she’s consistently on the podium in any of the local races/ athletics competitions. Aside from an occasional limp, you would never know.

My DS was born with this in his left foot, quite severe. He had his first hip to toe plaster cast at 2 weeks then a new one every week to manipulate the foot to the correct position. After 6 weeks he had boots and bar fitted for 23 out of 24 hours a day for 3 months then at night for about 2 years. He's now 7 and has recently had an op to correct it more as it was turning back in and he couldn't put his heel on the floor. He's has been such a star and handled everything thrown at him with ease. Yeah he limps a bit but there are worse things he could have had diagnosed at the 20 week scan. Good luck and try not to worry, the new techniques for correction are brilliant x

My son had talipes at birth but it was just positional rather than affecting the bones so he just needed to wear special boots for a few years. If it’s the bones affected it needs more treatment I think x he’ll be well looked after, please try not to worry xx

Why are you asking an online forum and not a specialist?

I know exactly what the treatment involves I've been given plenty of information on that. I am just asking the people who have the most experience in this - the mothers that have been through it ! I'm not asking for medical advice just personal success stories so i don't feel so alone and nervous about what's coming. Thanks to the people who have left kind comments and shared their stories x

I had talipes as a baby, as did DD1. Both treated with exercises prescribed by physio. I did them for my DD at each nappy change. I only had to do them for a few months and then she was fine. She's 11 now and no further problems (altho neither of us are super sporty, but we are both active).

My dd (now 14) was born with severe bilateral talipes. We found out at the 20 week scan. We had extra scans as apparently it can be a sign of further problems. I wanted a home birth but was advised against it. When dd was born her big toes were almost touching the inside of her legs as her ankles were so turned so much. I struggled to look at them first if I am totally honest. I bought footless babygros and then put socks on her because in "full" babygros she looked so uncomfortable. She was diagnosed with jaundice at birth so we had to stay in hospital an extra week due to the Dr not been being able to take blood from her heel and having to wait for a different type of Dr (sorry memory hazy) to take blood from her wrist. She had her first operation at 4 weeks old under ga where they cut the tendons on the back of her heel and put her into plaster thigh to toe. They were changed weekly so no baths in between. Unfortunately my dd was a bugger and would kick them off by banging them against the side of her cot! Some weeks we ended up back in the fracture clinic 3 times to get them to replaster! She had another operation at 6 months old and was put in a hip spica to stop her kicking them off. The hip spica went from just below her nipples down to her toes with a bar in between her feet. So for 6 weeks she could either lie down or be held upright but couldn't bend! Once that was taken off she went into Dennis Brown boots (special boots with a bar between them) and had to wear them 23 hours a day so we could at least bathe her. Unfortunately she was still a bugger, learnt to crawl in them and jump out of her cot in them!
Gradually reduced the amount of time she had to wear them. She finally got signed off from Consultant when she was 6/7. She has tiny but wide feet (think size 1 but with widest fitting) and a very high instep so winter boots/summer sandals are nigh on impossible. She doesn't have defined ankles either and walks slightly pigeon toed which I was told was fairly normal but she could have been like that anyway.
Sorry if all that sounds too "me, me" and too factual but just wanted to give you our experience. Drs and staff were fab especially when I phoned them crying for the third time that week that I needed to bring her back in for replastering!
The weekly visits were a pain especially because they could last a whole day but then I would feel guilty because it was "just" her feet and other parents were dealing with far far worse.
If you need any other info I am happy to answer - obviously only from my own perspective of what happened with us.
Oh and it was a huge shock to us at the scan - it's the unknown and scary. But for my dd it has been fine.

Apologies for the massive block of text - I'm on a shitty phone!

Oh and definitely speak to a specialist during your pregnancy. Ours was fab and would always answer any questions we had. Knowledge is power and far better than Dr Google which is what I did
Oh and dd has spent all morning on our trampoline and is now chasing her brothers round the garden!
It will be fine lovey xx

My DD was born with right foot talipes, not picked up in any scan but only at birth. I spent the first 7 weeks of her life visiting the hospital 3 times each week to have her foot manipulated and stretched. She wore a permanent boot for several years. She an op at 2, to lengthen the tendon and then another one a short while later.

Her foot is probably 2 sizes smaller than the other one and her leg is a bit shorter too so she sometimes walks with a bit of a limp depending on shoes. She wore orthotic inserts for years but doesn't bother at all now.

She can't wear high heels at all, which bothers her sometimes (prom, graduation etc), and may potentially be an issue for work as trainers are the best footwear for talipes. It's not visually noticeable at all.

It seemed like a big issue at birth but in the scheme of things, it's not really. It hasn't stopped her from rock-climbing, swimming, high-ropes activities etc.

One of the worst times was when she had her plaster off at two. Plaster rooms are very noisy and the saws make a horrible sound! She screamed the place down. In the end I had to lie on the bed, holding her down on top of me, so the nurse could take it off!

It will be OK OP. You'll have some stuff to go through but it will be fine.

Just to qualify, no-one looking at her would know she a problem with her foot, but it does look a little different when she's got nothing on it. And it doesn't bend very well.

My eldest was born with talipes In his right foot, picked up at 20 week scan. He had a cast every week from 2 weeks and the first operation at 6 weeks, then boots with a bar constantly and then just at night. When he was 3 he had a longer operation to move part of his tendon to the other side of his foot. He’s 16 now and his right leg is shorter than the left and needs insoles and can be in some pain after long walks or not using the in soles but other than that he’s fine and most people don’t know he had it - you can see when he’s barefoot but people don’t notice.
I wasn’t offered a specialist to see but my mum managed to contact an amazing one and got me into his clinic - I found it very helpful to talk to him about the condition and the treatment plan he would follow and look at the appliances he would use. Also I saw a number of children with the condition at various ages so could ask other mums about it x

DD1 had talipes in one foot diagnosed at birth. It corrected after three physio sessions. Just got to keep up the exercises they prescribe at home too

Are you OK OP?

Not had internet access for 2 days. Thank you so much everyone feel loads better 🙂 ended up at maternity triage last night for reduced movement. I got so anxious it sent my blood pressure too high so i had to be monitored for a while. So not good at being pregnant i get so paranoid about everything 😆