LOW TEMPERATURE THERMOPLASTIC SPLINTING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CONGENITAL TALIPES EQUINOVARUS

Abstract

Congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) is one of the most common congenital deformities. Treatment of clubfoot should begin at the earliest to have the best outcome. The goal of treatment is to eliminate all deformities of CTEV so that patient has a functional, pain free, plantigrade foot with good mobility within minimum time duration. Treatment includes non-surgical and surgical methods. Conventionally Plaster of Paris (POP) is used for splinting though leather, polypropylene and rubber are also used. Objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of low temperature thermoplastic (LTTP) splinting in CTEV management. This is an on observational study over a period of one year in Thirty-two CTEV patients with Pirani score of less than three. Effectiveness of LTTP splinting was evaluated in detail. It was found that LTTP splinting was cost effective, cosmetically better, reusable, demoldable, and easier to apply. It was of light weight, and required lesser time. It avoids the need for repetitive casting and same splint can be used as maintenance splint also. Pirani score lowered from 3 to 0 after 6 months of splinting. Conclusion –The compliance in donning the splint was high and acceptable among the children studied. Parental satisfaction regarding the splint wearing time and correction of deformity factor was high. Skin complications associated with POP casting were absent in the study population. Hence correction of CTEV with LTTP splinting was more effective than conventional POP casting.