Clubfoot Treatment Options

Our clubfoot care team has decades of experience treating children with clubfoot. We are well-versed in the latest treatments to help your child recover and live a healthy, active life.

Ponseti method treatment for clubfoot

The Ponseti method is a gentle clubfoot treatment that uses casts and braces to correct the condition in lieu of surgery. For most young patients, the Ponseti method can help return the foot to full functionality, giving them the gift of a normal childhood without pain or disability. If your child is being treated with the Ponseti method, he or she will wear a cast for approximately two months, after which he or she will wear a brace all day for another three months and at night for three to four years.

Steven Frick, MD, the chief of pediatric orthopedics at Stanford, is recognized as a Ponseti doctor by the Ponseti International Association and has decades of experience using the treatment method.

Surgery for clubfoot

It is extremely rare for a patient not to respond to the Ponseti method, but it does happen, especially when clubfoot occurs alongside other conditions or if braces are not worn for enough time. Surgery in infants is rare. If there is a relapse or recurrence of clubfoot when the child is more than 3 years old, we will sometimes perform tendon transfer surgery. We avoid surgery that cuts ligaments or opens up joints unless absolutely necessary, as these surgeries can result in lifelong stiffness and pain.