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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : June 7, 2021 4:44 PM IST
Clubfoot is most often present at birth (congenital). ©Shutterstock.
Clubfoot is the most common musculoskeletal birth deformity affecting about 1 in 800 children. About 80 per cent of clubfoot children are born in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that over 200,000 children are born with clubfoot each year and approximately 35,000 in India alone. Untreated clubfoot is an important cause of long-term physical and emotional disability in low- and middle-income countries due to lack of accessibility to quality healthcare and systemic inequities. To provide clubfoot braces to needy families at a very low cost, the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital For Children, Parel, Mumbai launched India's first Brace Bank on World Clubfoot Day (June 3).
The hospital is now encouraging parents and doctors to donate used clubfoot braces to the Brace Bank, called W-riddhi, which means progress. The donated clubfoot braces would be refurbished and supplied to needy families at a very low cost of Rs 1,500 per child every month under the "Each one treat one scheme", the hospital said in a statement.
Launching of Brace Bank and Self Sufficient Clinic Scheme at the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital For Children
Wadia Hospital partnered with CURE Clubfoot Worldwide in 2011, a US-based NGO to establish a dedicated Clubfoot Clinic in the hospital premises to provide a protocol-based clubfoot treatment by training doctors in the Ponseti method, providing free clubfoot braces, establishing a prospective clubfoot registry, and setting a 24x7 dedicated clubfoot helpline for parent support. Now, it is taken a step ahead with the establishment of India's first Brace Bank.
Dr Rujuta Mehta HOD, Dept. Paediatric Orthopaedics, Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, said, "Rather than depending on NGOs for support, we are now encouraging parents and doctors to donate used clubfoot braces to the Brace Bank, where they are refurbished and supplied to needy families at a very low cost under the "Each one treat one scheme".
"Our vast database of over 1500 patients is uploaded in-house by Wadia staff on a special online portal of the International Clubfoot Registry (ICR), hosted by the University of Iowa, USA. We are collaborating with international universities (University of Toronto and University of Oxford) for various research projects related to developing outcome tools and treatment guidelines for late presenting clubfoot," Dr Mehta added.
According to Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO of Wadia Hospital, over 1500 children with clubfeet has been treated in the hospital over the past 10 years, making it one of the largest clubfoot treatment centers in India.
"Besides idiopathic clubfeet, we have developed special expertise in treating syndromic clubfeet, atypical clubfeet, and children who present with untreated clubfoot after the walking age. The aim is to provide uninterrupted treatment with the introduction of clubfoot braces at an affordable cost," she added.
Clubfoot refers to a range of foot abnormalities most often present at birth (congenital). It is caused by a shortened Achilles tendon, which causes the top of the foot to twist downward and inward. About half of cases, it affects both feet. The cause of clubfoot is unknown, but a combination of genetics and environmental factor are believed to play role. Smoking during pregnancy and too little amniotic fluid during pregnancy are also linked to increased risk of clubfoot in babies.
Having clubfoot will make it harder for your child to walk normally. So, doctors generally recommend treating it soon after birth. Treatment is usually done in two phases casting and bracing. Sometimes children need surgery later on. If the clubfoot is treated, your child will most likely walk fairly normally.
