Results of Shortened Program of Ponseti Technique for Congenital Clubfoot
Nantawit Sugandhavesa MD*, Chaiyarit Cheewawattanachai MD*, Sirichai Luevitoonvechkij MD*, Songsak Khunsree MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Objective : To study the results and complications of congenital clubfoot treatment using a shortened (twice a week) program
of serial casting using Ponseti technique.
Material and Method: Sixteen patients with congenital clubfoot (26 feet) were treated by serial manipulation and casting
twice a week until acceptable deformity correction (60 degrees of abduction with or without equinus deformity) were
achieved.
Results : Seventeen patients (65%) required less than three weeks in treatment to improvement in the deformity, while eight
patients (30%) required more than three weeks of treatment. This period of treatment is at least two weeks shorter than the
conventional Ponseti technique. One patient did not complete treatment due to hospital-acquired pneumonia. Four patients
who developed pressure ulcers from the castings were continued in treatment and all achieved successful correction.
Conclusion : A shortened program of clubfoot correction using the Ponseti technique can be effective for correcting
uncomplicated clubfoot without serious complications.
Keywords : Ponseti, Clubfoot, Serial casting, Shortened program
