New Brace Offered to Treat Clubfoot
A newly designed brace to correct clubfoot, crafted by an orthopaedic surgeon in St. Louis, appears to be superior to the traditional braces which are generally used. Findings highlighting device efficacy were published in the current issue of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.
The newly designed brace is intended for use in children who are treated with the Ponseti method. The brace generally used is associated with poor compliance secondary to the restrictive design and propensity to cause skin blistering.
The new brace is manufactured from a soft, custom molded interface within a solid-ankle foot orthosis. A bar that connects the feet can be detached and re-attached as needed without requiring removal of the entire brace. The device also allows the wearer to move each leg independent from the other.
The published findings indicate that patients were more compliant with wearing the brace as prescribed. Patients were also less likely to experience a relapse of clubfoot when using the new brace.
This limited study was not a randomized trial and, instead, was conducted in a cohort of patients. Some of those patients has an original brace but had been non-compliant in wearing such. Further studies, including a randomized trial, are required to further evaluate device efficacy.
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July 6, 2007 Related topics: Pediatrics, Orthopedic