Clubfoot Treatment with the Dobbs Bar

Treating clubfoot and supporting families along the way
The job of the pediatric orthotist is to provide customized AFO boots that will need adjustments and replacements as the child grows. An experienced orthotist will educate the parents about daily care and what devices will be used, and how they can be customized. Consultation and direction from other care-team members is very important to provide proper patient care and the best possible chance for a successful outcome.
We are proud to be able to work with Dr. Mitzi Williams and Dr. Scott Kaiser who direct the Pediatric and Infant Foot Deformity Clinic at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. Practitioner Brian Lee is also an integral part of these clinics which assist families in a setting where all the specialists are available for them to consult.
Dr. Williams is a nationally recognized expert in pediatric foot and ankle care, and is an attending surgeon. With her colleague Dr. Matthew Dobbs, she was recently published in the McGlamry’s Foot and Ankle Surgical Textbook.
Links:
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www.ponseti.info/
Parents, you are not alone: www.ponseti.inf...
Video transcription
After the child comes out of the cast, a lot of the times the doctor will order braces, there are a lot of different options. Most common are these little gray boots called Mitchell boots and they're attached to a Dobbs Bar, and it keeps the child's foot in the correct position about 23 hours a day.
So it's super important for the parents involved, stretch the feet, keep the child in the, in the boots, the allotted amount of time as the kid grows, we can increase the size of boots. We can also change the style of Dobbs bar that is used to keep the child's feet in that corrected position, first keeping the kid in real stiff position and allowing a little bit more movement as the child progresses. As they start to crawl and walk, then less time is required in those Mitchell gray Dobbs Bar and boots system because that's designed just for sleeping and rest in a static position.
Give or take about the age of four, the the child will probably start weaning off the night time braces and maybe go to a lower profile, something like a custom art support, which will give enough corrective position as the child grows as their ligaments and tendons progress and their skeleton matures.