20 wk scan - talipes/clubfoot

[pregmummy]

I have just had my scan and found out that my baby has club foot - which is a bit of a shock in itself and then told may be rsult of chromosomal probs such as downs syndrome - anyone else had this at their scan?

Hi, I have been going through this post as my sister's baby has been diagnosed with talipes and I wanted to help her find out how to get referred to Chelsea and Westminster.

She is devastated by this news and emotionally very drained. She is no longer showing interest in being happy about being pregnant. It is just an uphill battle for her at the moment.

I am quite worried for her so any help will be greatly appreciated.

I do realise this post is 13 years old!
Still hoping to get help

Thanks
Tanvi

Hi
My daughter is 5 and was diagnosed with bilateral talipies at the 20 week scan.
Out of all the "defects" ( and I don't mean this nastily...as my daughter is fine and her feet have been fully corrected) they can find at a 20 week scan that cause concern this is the most fixable.
No surgery, no other chromosomal issues.
Simply casts and the ponseti method from 3 weeks old.
My girl has been out of her boots and bar at night for a year, can run, jump dance ballet and has no lingering problems with pain and both her feet are normal looking.
Dressing baby in casts is easy, go for those thick stretchy leggings, leg warmers cut down, clothes designed for cloth nappy users as they are looser cut, or footless baby grows when it comes to boots and bar.
Honestly you can still put baby in a sling, highchair carrier as the bar unclipped easily and they don't know any different either. They can roll over and crawl with the boots onto.
It will be ok .
Roughly will be casts changed every week for 3 months
Then a tendon cut ( done under local anaesthetic)
2 weeks of casting
Then boots and bar which get checked every month
Boots and bar worn for 23 hours a day
Then 16 hours
Then just at night
By 4 or 5 years old it's simply checkups
Good luck x

DS had talipes that were picked up at his 20wks scan but werent nearly as bad as we thought when he was born. they have pretty much corrected themselves (he's 5mths) with no intervention. the docs just think it was the way he was lying in the womb

Same here! Our DD is also 5 months and they are barely noticable, apparently once they start bearing weight that also helps to straighten them out.

Try not to worry OP 😊

@whereismyheathcliff

Thanks so much for your reply. Which hospital did you take your daughter to get the talepis corrected please? I have researched and they say Chelsea and Westminster in London are the best. Just don't know how to get referred to it.

Also how bad was it for your daughter. My sister has been told that it is severe at the moment and we are worried if it is not been able to get corrected.

Happy to hear that your daughter is fine 🙂
Just scared as they say Nearly all cases are successfully treated. What is "nearly all" and what if you are not in "nearly all". That's what scares her?

Ever so grateful for this help x

@WhereismyHeathcliff

Hi My daughter is 5 and was diagnosed with bilateral talipies at the 20 week scan. Out of all the "defects" ( and I don't mean this nastily...as my daughter is fine and her feet have been fully corrected) they can find at a 20 week scan that cause concern this is the most fixable. No surgery, no other chromosomal issues. Simply casts and the ponseti method from 3 weeks old. My girl has been out of her boots and bar at night for a year, can run, jump dance ballet and has no lingering problems with pain and both her feet are normal looking. Dressing baby in casts is easy, go for those thick stretchy leggings, leg warmers cut down, clothes designed for cloth nappy users as they are looser cut, or footless baby grows when it comes to boots and bar. Honestly you can still put baby in a sling, highchair carrier as the bar unclipped easily and they don't know any different either. They can roll over and crawl with the boots onto. It will be ok . Roughly will be casts changed every week for 3 months Then a tendon cut ( done under local anaesthetic) 2 weeks of casting Then boots and bar which get checked every month Boots and bar worn for 23 hours a day Then 16 hours Then just at night By 4 or 5 years old it's simply checkups Good luck x

@whereismyheathcliff

Thanks so much for your reply. Which hospital did you take your daughter to get the talipes corrected please? I have researched and they say Chelsea and Westminster in London are the best. Just don't know how to get referred to it.

Also how bad was it for your daughter. My sister has been told that it is severe at the moment and we are worried if it is not been able to get corrected.

Happy to hear that your daughter is fine 🙂
Just scared as they say Nearly all cases are successfully treated. What is "nearly all" and what if you are not in "nearly all". That's what scares her?

Ever so grateful for this help x

I was born with talipes over 50 years ago, and was lucky enough to have the pioneering treatment that is now routine, splints etc. Im just posting to let you know the treatment was completed early in my childhood and I have no real memory of it, so I hope your lovely baby is the same and is 'all fixed' before they are barely aware of it. My corrected foot has been completely fine for long walks, sport, swimming etc, with just a little strapping on occasions- it's a bit more prone to a twisted ankle than my other leg. And I've never really trusted it on high heels, it's a bit wobbly, but otherwise it never affects my everyday life at all. Good luck x

Hi we were just referred to our local hospital in Norfolk, they ran a weekly clinic and it was actually the same consultant who did both local hospitals.
Her feet were quite folded in on themselves, I'm sure they grade the severity of it on a numerical scale when the baby is born, though I cannot remember where she was on the scale.
I think your sister can ask to see the orthopaedic consultant whilst she is are still pregnant, but they are limited in what they can diagnose prenatally but maybe this would reassure her.
I didn't actively choose the consultant, it was just decided on a few the 20 week scan by the consultant and I got visited by orthopaedic team bot long after she was born, think was still on the recovery ward.

Acoustic, my DD was diagnosed with talipes at 20 weeks and she was treated at St Mary's in Paddington. She also had "shallow sockets" (mild hip dysplasia) so a lot going on for a first-time mother who didn't really know how to change a diaper!

Her NHS treatment was world-class we live in NYC now and her treatment is at Hospital for Special Surgery. Anyway, her situation is not entirely corrected because there is a small leg-length discrepancynot enough to require intervention--which is common when talipes is just one one side, and very slight wasting in the calf muscle of the affected leg. Her feet are different shoe sizes but it's really not a problem. Depending on the shoes, we sometimes choose to buy two pairs in different sizes.

Actually she also has a foot drop on that side, which isn't correctable, but I almost forgot to tell you because it's not a problem. Other parents who have known her for years say, "But she doesn't have a foot problem?"

I'm telling you this because "not 100% corrected" doesn't mean disability -- it most likely means something comparable to orthodontia in terms of effect on quality of life. Every kid has something.

Get a meeting with orthopedic surgeon and watch the videos on YouTube about the miraculous Dr. Ponseti. Good luck to your family.