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Club foot - Orthopaedics SA

Club Foot

Club foot or congenital tulips equinovarus (CTEV), is a foot abnormality present at birth where the baby’s toes point downwards and the whole foot is turned inwards.

Club foot is more common in boys but currently the cause is unknown. It is more common in Polynesian and Aboriginal populations and has been reported all over the world for more than 2,000 years.

Club foot can often diagnosed prenatally via ultrasound, or at birth by physical exam.

In South Australia, club feet are treated using the Ponseti method – commencing in the first week or so after birth, with initial casting for 6 weeks, then an Achilles tenotomy under local anaesthetic and then “Boot and Bars” bracing to the age of 4 years.  Some children later require Orthopaedic surgery with a tendon transfer operation around 4 to 6 years of age.



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