Directed by Ignacio Ponseti, M.D., UI professor emeritus of orthopaedic surgery, the clinic increases the availability of physicians and staff who specialize in performing the treatment he perfected some 50 years ago, the Ponseti Method. In addition, parents of children with clubfoot can easily access information on the condition and the Ponseti Method by visiting a new web site and chat forum or by calling a new toll-free number.
Clubfoot is the most common birth defect of the lower extremity.
It causes the foot to turn inward and point downward. If untreated, a child with clubfoot will have severely impaired walking, a smaller, less mobile foot, and possible psychological distress. The casts are changed weekly after a clinician manipulates softened foot ligaments to gradually achieve near-normal muscle and bone alignment. Five or six cast changes are sufficient to correct most clubfoot conditions. In addition to Ponseti, the UI Health Care clubfoot clinic is staffed by Fred Dietz, M.D., and Stuart Weinstein, M.D., both UI professors of orthopaedic surgery.