Anyone with cast and/or AFO experience?

raeg13 · December 2012

Hi ladies!

My son is 18 months old and was born with a foot deformity. He had surgery when he was 15 months old and has spent the last 3 months in a full leg cast. The surgery was pretty intense and 13 weeks later, there is still some swelling in his foot.

He had his cast removed last Tuesday and is now in an AFO ankle brace. He is getting much more confident bearing weight and is walking all over the place now.

Here is my concern: His foot is now turned out to the right. This was not an issue before his surgery and his ortho said it is because of being in a cast for such a long time. All of the other issues he was having when he first got his cast off seem to be resolving themselves, but I am very concerned about how much his foot is turning to the right because it hasn't improved at all.

I am just wondering if anyone has experience with this and if this will get better with the AFO brace? My son's foot deformity is a 1 in 10,000 case, so I'm not expecting anyone to be in the exact same situation, but any input/reassurance would help put me at ease. We don't go back to see the ortho until January for me to discuss with him more. TIA!!

AimeeL85 · December 2012

My experience is not the same, but DS broke his leg at 14 months. He was in a cast for just 3 weeks, yet when the cast came off, he still walked with his foot turned out for at least a month, maybe even two! I was very surprised at how long he walked like that, considering the cast was not even on for a long time, but it did correct itself completely over time.

KRabanal · December 2012

My husband has grown up in the field of orthotics and prosthetics and is now a prosthetist/orthotist himself. Here is his reply:

What was the foot deformity called? Which foot is it? It all depends on what is going on but usually this internal or external rotation of the foot can be caused by muscle weakness on one particular side of the foot. This weakness causes an imbalance that allows the stronger muscles to win out, thus pulling the foot toward the stronger muscle group.

This will usually correct itself as your son becomes more active and his muscles strengthen. Give it some time. The AFO is most likely designed to encourage the leg into a normal position and if you use it consistently the rotation should go away.

Again, it all depends on what the deformity was and what was done to correct it, but it sounds like your doctor and orthotist have a plan to correct it. Your son is young enough that correction can still occur. Call your orthotist with questions or concerns, they should be able to answer them.

raeg13 · December 2012

Curling: Thanks for the support! Casting is definitely difficult and I hope the next few weeks go by quickly for you! I know they did for me Good luck!

Aimee: Thanks so much for the reassurance. It is so great to hear that it corrected itself and that this seems to be common with casting.

KRabanal:
My husband has grown up in the field of orthotics and prosthetics and is now a prosthetist/orthotist himself. Here is his reply:
What was the foot deformity called? Which foot is it? It all depends on what is going on but usually this internal or external rotation of the foot can be caused by muscle weakness on one particular side of the foot. This weakness causes an imbalance that allows the stronger muscles to win out, thus pulling the foot toward the stronger muscle group.
This will usually correct itself as your son becomes more active and his muscles strengthen. Give it some time. The AFO is most likely designed to encourage the leg into a normal position and if you use it consistently the rotation should go away.
Again, it all depends on what the deformity was and what was done to correct it, but it sounds like your doctor and orthotist have a plan to correct it. Your son is young enough that correction can still occur. Call your orthotist with questions or concerns, they should be able to answer them.

He had congenital vertical talus in his right foot. His talus bone was vertical instead of horizontal which was causing him to walk on the insides of his feet. He had corrective surgery to reconstruct and pin all of the bones back together to right way. Thank you so much for all of the information and thanks for what you do! My son also had plagiocephaly and wore a helmet for 16 weeks so I have a very high level of respect for orthotists

KRabanal · December 2012

In this case if all goes as planned, your son should be out of that pesky AFO in a year with the majority of that external rotation gone. May need some physical therapy or foot orthotics down the road, but should recover nicely.

ally81698 · December 2012

DD just got her AFO brace off. She wore it for a different reason (hemiparesis) but I think it helped her a lot. It gave her confidence and allowed her to bear weight as well. She also started to turn her foot out and we were told this is normal and that once it's off, it will correct itself (and it did for the most part). Do you have one with hinges that allows him to move his ankle?

raeg13 · December 2012

KRabanal:
In this case if all goes as planned, your son should be out of that pesky AFO in a year with the majority of that external rotation gone. May need some physical therapy or foot orthotics down the road, but should recover nicely.

Thanks again for the info. I feel so much better about everything now.

raeg13 · December 2012

ally81698:
DD just got her AFO brace off.nbsp; She wore it for a different reason hemiparesis but I think it helped her a lot.nbsp; It gave her confidence and allowed her to bear weight as well.nbsp; She also started to turn her foot out and we were told this is normal and that once it's off, it will correct itself and it did for the most part.nbsp; Do you have one with hinges that allows him to move his ankle?nbsp;

Glad it helped your DD! No hinges for DS. The main purpose of his is for ankle stabilization because his incision went across his whole ankle and his muscles are much weaker.

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