Jennifer Wambui, the Chief Exec. Director, CaCAI has a superb presentation about the Ponseti Method of Clubfoot treatment. The whole presentation is based on her own experience with Clubfoot and how she has triumphed over it.
6. It wasn’t easy nevertheless!
I had to go through an excruciating
pain of six surgeries; painful,
expensive and not very effective!
7. How I wish doctors then new about
the Ponseti Method……
• I wouldn’t have experienced the dreadful pain
• The method would have corrected my foot
effectively enabling me to wear high- heeled
shoes, which I sorely miss today!
• My parents wouldn’t have spend much money
8. Hence CaCAI…………
To ensure no other child goes through
this hell, Clubfoot Correction Awareness
Initiative (CaCAI) was born!
9. CaCAI’s core mission is to…….
• Raise awareness on the need for early
detection and correction of Clubfoot via the
Ponseti Method. Early intervention is painfree, inexpensive and effective.
10. The Ponseti Method…….
• The Ponseti method is a
manipulative technique
that corrects congenital
clubfoot without
invasive surgery. It was
developed by the late
Dr. Ignacio V. Ponseti of
the University of Iowa,
USA in the 1950s
11. The Ponseti Method has………
• Over the past decades become accepted
throughout the world as the most effective
and least expensive treatment of clubfoot
12. When should the Ponseti management
start?
• When possible, start
soon after birth (7 to 10
days). However, most
clubfoot deformities
can be corrected
throughout childhood
using this management.
13. When treatment is started early, how many
cast changes are usually required?
• Most clubfoot deformities can be corrected in
approximately 6 weeks by weekly manipulations
followed by plaster cast applications. If the deformity
is not corrected after six or seven plaster cast
changes, the treatment is most likely faulty.
14. When is it late for the Ponseti
Method?
• The goal is to start
treatment in the first
few weeks after birth.
However, correction can
be achieved in many
cases until late
childhood.
15. Still useful when delayed?
• Management that is delayed until early
childhood may be started with Ponseti casts.
In some cases, operative correction will be
required, but the magnitude of the procedure
may be less than would have been necessary
without Ponseti management.
16. Did you know……..
• When one parent is affected with clubfoot,
there is a 3% to 4% chance that the offspring
will also be affected. However, when both
parents are affected, the offspring have a 30%
chance of developing clubfoot.
17. Just so you know……
• Surgery improves the initial appearance of the
foot but does not prevent recurrence. Adult
foot and ankle surgeons report that these
surgically treated feet become weak, stiff, and
often painful in adult life.