[Personal experience with treatment of congenital pes equinovarus].

Abstract

The authors evaluated a group of 256 children operated in 1983-1992 at the Orthopaedic Clinic of the Faculty Hospital on account of congenital pes equinovarus. These children account for 25% of the total number of children treated because of this inborn defect by conservative treatment. The authors draw attention to the lack of uniformity of contemporary treatment of congenital pes equinovarus, and based on their own experience, they recommend an exact therapeutic plan. They emphasize the importance of early treatment by means of corrective plaster bandages, they describe the tactics of treatment by this method, as any deviation from this therapeutic pattern leads to incomplete elimination of the defect and to relapses. The authors present also a general review of possible surgical treatment and emphasize the tactics of postoperative treatment, incl. intensive rehabilitation and correction by footwear. They emphasize in particular the necessity of systematic and uninterrupted conservative treatment which is essential as preoperative preparation, as only by intensive care before and after surgery, incl. a correctly indicated and implemented operation, the desired goal, i.e. an anatomical position of the foot can be achieved.