The Ponseti method for the treatment of congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV)

Abstract

Summary

Congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) is the most common musculoskeletal condition in newborns, affecting one-to-two per thousand babies. The Ponseti method is a treatment regime for the management of CTEV which describes a detailed method of manipulation, casting and bracing. Despite its initial publication in 1963, it only started to become popular in the 1990s, coming to UK shores in 1997 when NHS Physiotherapist Steve Wildon widely popularized the method around the country, including in Morecambe Bay. Patients who are treated with the Ponseti method report high levels of satisfaction many years after treatment. The body of literature evaluating the steps of the Ponseti method has grown in the last decade as the technique has become the gold standard treatment for clubfoot. Future research will look at how the Ponseti method can be improved in the management of CTEV.

Relevance

Medical students should be aware of CTEV and understand the steps in management of this common musculoskeletal condition in newborns.

Take Home Messages

• CTEV is the most common musculoskeletal condition in newborns and the current gold standard management is the Ponseti method.
• Ponseti method enables us to correct the majority of clubfeet with its conservative approach.
• Relapses which occur have a good prognosis when treated with surgery in the form of a tibialis anterior tendon transfer.