Cleft palate repairs are usually done when the baby, between the ages of 9 to 18 months, but before the age of 2. It affects the bones, muscles, tendons, and blood vessels and can affect one or both feet. The heel can appear narrow and the muscles in the calf are smaller compared to a normal lower leg. It occurs in about one in every 1,000 live births and affects boys twice as often as girls. Fifty percent of the cases of clubfoot affect both feet.
Clubfoot is considered a multifactorial trait.
Multifactorial inheritance means there are many factors involved in causing a birth defect. The factors are usually both genetic and environmental. Specific treatment will be determined by your child s physician, but the goal of treatment is to straighten the foot so that it can grow and develop normally. Treatment options for infants may include placing a series of casts on the foot to help stretch the soft tissues and return the foot to a normal position. Casting will correct clubfoot in many babies.