A baby boy with the club foot condition. PHOTO COURTESY PROFESSOR ANISUDDIN BHATTI OF THE JPMC
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of clubfoot programme at the Third International Biennial Paeds Orthopaedicon 2016 on Thursday. The event was held at Najamuddin Auditorium of JPMC.
What is clubfoot?
Clubfoot is one of the most common congenital birth defects that causes one or both feet to turn inward and downward, explained Bhatti. "If it is neglected or left untreated it causes permanent disability."
The training workshop of the clubfoot programme would allow the doctors to correct their methods of treating clubfoot without surgery, remarked a participant Dr Sundus.
Ponseti technique
Clubfoot can be easily treated using the ponseti technique, said Prof Bhatti. It is also very cost-effective, he claimed. It's the target of Ponseti International Pakistan that no child with clubfoot is left untreated by 2020, he added.
Doctors encourage non-invasive treatments to treat club foot in children
"It's my first trip to Pakistan and I'm surprised to know that young doctors here are eager to learn the ponseti technique," said one of the trainers Prof Marc Sinclair.
Our emphasis while treating clubfoot should be on quality control, said ponseti trainer Jose Morcuende. He is the professor of orthopaedics, rehabilitation and paediatrics at University of Iowa.
Relief to all
Zaheer Abbas, a labourer, took his five-year-old daughter Shanza to the workshop. He believes that the treatment will help Shanza overcome the deformity.
Another parent, Muhammad Dilshad brought his seven-year-old daughter, Dania, to the workshop. Dilshad travelled from Mirpur Khas to Karachi hoping to find a cure for his daughter's condition.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ