Clubfoot Clinic

By Robert Cady, M.D.

In May 2011, a clubfoot treatment clinic was opened at Hôpital Sacré Coeur. Clubfoot is the most common serious musculo-skeletal birth defect in both the US and Haiti, occurring in approximately 1/1000 births.

The treatment of clubfoot consists of a series of casts followed by minor surgery and prolonged night splinting until the child is five years old. The treatment protocol was developed by Dr. Ponseti at the University of Iowa and is known as the Ponseti technique.

Children born with clubfeet in countries with limited resources such as Haiti often are not treated. They are left with a terrible cosmetic and functional deformity and often can’t find employment. The goal of the Hôpital Sacré Coeur Clubfoot Clinic is to find and treat all babies born with clubfeet in northern Haiti.

CURE International, an American NGO focused on treating children with disabilities throughout the world has developed a Ponseti Clubfoot Treatment Program for developing countries. CURE sponsors clubfoot teaching conferences for cast technicians and counselors.

Hôpital Sacré Coeur staff member, Tennor Wilfin, attended a CURE Clubfoot Course in Port au Prince in March 2011 and became a Clubfoot Cast Technician. Nyrva Florvil Samson, a HSC community health worker, attended a subsequent course for clubfoot counselors and earned that position at the hospital. Clubfoot counselors work with the families of babies with clubfeet, helping them comply with the treatment program which can be difficult for families living a significant distance from the clinic.

CURE supplies the cast materials and splints needed by the clinic. Dr. Mazur and other volunteers visit the clinic periodically to supervise the casting and perform the limited surgery.

 
 
Following Tennor and Nyrva’s training, the clubfoot clinic at Hôpital Sacré Couer was opened in May 2011. Since then the over twenty babies born with clubfeet have already been successfully treated!

HSC staff members Tennor and Nyrva manipulate the patient’s feet and apply the cast. Neither had formal training until they attended the CURE International training program. Now they treat children with clubfoot every Monday at a special HSC clinic. Pediatric orthopedists visit the clinic every 6-8 weeks to check on their progress and to perform any needed surgeries.