Simple , Safe and Fast Ponseti Cast Removal Procedure in Pes Equina Varus Patients

Objective: In our study, it is aimed to remove the cast more easily and safely without using the cutting tools by leaving the cast ends marked by folding in the idiopathic clubfoot patients treated with Ponseti method. Material and Methods: Forty feet of 29 patients treated for Pes Equinovarus were included in the study. Patients were followed up in two groups. The group treated with Ponseti method by cast marking were named as “modified group” and cast wrapped group without marking were named as “classical group”. Neurological, teratologic and syndromic clubfoot patients were not included in the study. During the six series of casting, cast removal times for each extremity are recorded in minutes and it is noted that whether any additional cutting tool is used during cast removal or not. A summary of the data was presented as mean, standard deviation and percentage. Comparisons of the categorical characteristics were analysed by using the Chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney test. IBM-SPSS 20 program was used for analysis. In all tests, the level of significance was adjusted to 0.05. Results: Thirteen (44.8%) of the 29 patients were male and 16 (55.2%) were female. While the mean time to start treatment for the 15 patients in the modified group was 3.46 (2-7) days, mean time for the 14 patients in the classical group was 3.78 (2-10) days. While the mean cast removal time of the 20 extremities of 15 patients in the modifying group was 10.9 minutes (8-14.3 min);it was 22.2 minutes (17.1-29.5 min) for the 20 extremities of 14 patients in the classical group. While no additional cutting tool was used during cast removal in the modified group, additional cutting tools were used during removal of cast in 75% (15/20) of the patients in the classical group and statistically significant difference was found between two groups in terms of the use of cutting tools (p<0.001). Conclusion: We found that the cast ends’ being marked by folding during plastering in idiopathic clubfoot patients treated with Ponseti technique is costless, easy to apply, significantly shortens cast removal time, does not require the use of cutting tools, and thus is a notably safe method for these patients.