This Talipes / Clubfoot site is owned by Teresa McLaughlin.
Welcome to Jakob's Clubfoot Page
This is Jakob right after he was born on February 9, 1998.  Notice how his feet turn in.  This is called Clubfoot or Talipes Equinovarus. 
Here are Jakob's feet when he was 1 week old.  At this point, he had already had one set of casts on and was waiting to see his orthopedic, Dr. Weinstein, in a couple of  days.  Dr. Weinstein uses the Ponseti Method, which uses casts and a special brace to correct clubfeet non-surgically.

This is Jakob with the first set of casts that Dr. Weinstein had put on.  During the cast changes, his feet would be manipulated into a more normal position then recasted.  The casts were changed once a week to give the tendons and ligaments a chance to adjust to the new position.  With each set of casts, Jakob's feet looked more and more normal.
This is Jakob in his last set of casts.  Before this set of casts were put on, Dr. Weinstein performed a percutaneous tenotomy on Jakob's Achille's tendons.  For this in-office procedure, Jakob had his heels numbed with Lidocaine and a small scalpel was used to gently cut the tendons in his heels to allow the heel bones to drop down where they are supposed to be.  The Achille's tendons repaired themselves while this set of casts were on.
This is Jakob wearing his special brace.  It is called a Denis Browne Bar.  The shoes are kept turned at a
70 degree outward angle to maintain the correction acheived during the casting.  The brace is worn fulltime for 3 months, then it is worn during naps and at bedtime for about 3 years.
This is a current look at Jakob's feet.  He still wears his brace at bedtime, but otherwise, he is completely normal.  Looking at his feet today, you'd never know he was born with Clubfeet.
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This Talipes / Clubfoot site is owned by Teresa McLaughlin.