8 Week Old Son Having Surgery for Club Feet

Maybe you have already gotten your answers but just in case. Here was my daughters experiance. She was in plaster casts changed weekly for 2 months. After that she had the tenotomy done. She was about 10 weeks old. She was in a fiber glass cast for about 4 weeks and then moved on to AFOs. (there are many pics online of afos) They are little leather shoes with hard soles and have a bar that we can use to attach them at night. She will be in some type of AFO until she is 2 or 3 (the longer the better). She has been crawling since she was 4 months old and is starting to pull herself up on the furniture so her development has not been affected at all. She is 9 months old now and we see the doctor every 2-3 months. I have been researching new treatments and they are doing things with botox to loosen the musle and physical therapy looks good to if you can find someone in your area. I hope all goes well for you and your family.

My niece had this surgery. She then wore casts up to her thighs for a little while after but it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. We didn't even know when she would be able to walk but she walked at 18 months. she didn't have this surgery so early though. It wasn't til almost a year old that they did hers. But now 6 years later she is a normal child running and playing with friends. Good luck.

I have a nephew that went through the surgery. He had casts on and off for a few years. It has affected him from time to time, but it hasn't been a major issue in his life, I think partly due to how my sister has handled it with him. At one point in elementary school he was frustrated that he couldn't run as fast as some other kids. She responded by pointing out that he was comparing his weaknesses with other people's strengths and that he shouldn't dwell on those things. He should look at his own strengths and abilities and develop them. He got into martial arts and has done very well. He really just doesn't let it keep him down at all. Overall the impact has been minimal. If you want more info specifically about the surgeries & casting, send me a message & I'll ask my sister for the specifics.

Is he going to the Shriner's hospitals? Even if he isn't, I'm sure that they can help answer any of your questions. I'm sorry I don't have any other resources to offer.

L.,

My seven year old was born with bilateral club feet. My first thought was that eight weeks is very, very early to do the tenotomy. Our son was casted from the hips down to the toes for the first five months of his life and then lived in a bar for the next year or so. It was so worth it. We decided to not do the tenotomy. We were told the surgery could help, but that it would also make him more prone to injuries later in life. Are you sure his feet cannot be further corrected by casting?
When our little guy got to be about three months old, he started to get too strong to cast in the office. His resistance was so strong that they couldn't stretch the muscle well enough. Therefore, they had to put him under (knock him out in an O.R.) but they never cut. We really wanted to avoid that. Having him put under was hard enough, especially when you can't let them eat for the 8 hours before surgery. I don't know what they will do with an eight week old with that.
He was almost 18-months-old when he stopped sleeping with the bar. It never interrupted his sleep, but the crib was pretty beat up from him turning over. He also had the strongest abs I've ever seen in a baby. He could do a sit up starting at around six months.
Now, he is seven and he is a little pigeon-toed; his feet look like John Elways! He remembers nothing. He has no scars and he can run and play like any other boy. We do not regret not having the tenotomy.
A friend of mine had a little boy last March who was born with one club foot. It was not as severe. They casted for a while and did physical therapy. He is now walking all over the place at 10 months!
I would ask if the tenotomy is necessary and if you can wait. Don't be is a big hurry to fix it now. Sometimes the slower something is corrected and healed, the better it is.
If you would like to contact me with any quesions, feel free. I'm trying to remember the doctor we saw. If I come up with the name, I'll send you another note.

Praying for you and your family,
T.

I have a cousin who was born with club feet. He's an adult now and you can barely tell his feet aren't perfect. If you don't get enough information from the people on here let me know and I'll get you my aunt's info. My cousin had everything done about 30 years ago, but my aunt would surely have some advice/words of comfort for you. :)