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Once they’ve seen the results of the Ponseti method, medical professionals can be outspoken in their support.

Take, for example, Dr. John Herzenberg, associate professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Maryland Medical School. Dr. Herzenberg risked trying out the Ponseti Method and found himself so impressed that he wrote to the surgeon who had trained him:

“In the true clubfoot category, I have rarely been successful (less than 10 percent) at obtaining what amounts to a satisfactory correction of the feet…. Since I have been using this method of casting, I have been amazed at how well the feet derotate underneath the ankle…. I do in some way feel a bit evangelical about this technique. I regret now that I have treated 100 children with large open surgeries which leave them with stiff feet, limited ankle motion and weak muscles.”

Then there is Michiel Steenbeek, a physiotherapist from Holland, who has worked in East Africa for 12 years, often treating infants with clubfoot. Steenbeek says the Ponseti Method was not introduced in Uganda until 1999. For 40 years prior to that, the accepted procedure was the Kite Method, a surgery named after an American surgeon.

“After having children with clubfeet for six years using the Kite method,” says Steenbeek, “I basically hated clubfeet and never wanted to see them again. That must have been because of unsatisfying results. After the introduction of the Ponseti method, I love treating it again. The fact that the clubfeet can be treated quicker (5 to 8 weeks) is very important in the African situation, because the transport costs for the parents are much less. Parents see better results every visit, which motivates them to come back for the next cast.”

Situated in Kampala, Uganda, Steenbeek trains six to ten doctors and physiotherapists each month in the Ponseti Method, and he has designed his own foot abduction brace, which has been popular across East Africa and beyond.

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Foot Notes
	Video Clips of Dr. Ponseti and a Patient		Ponseti Graduates into War
	The Ponseti Method Worldwide