The analysis determined the relapses in clubfoot children treated with Ponseti technique and standard bracing protocol and their correlation with overall follow up duration using pooled data from various series. It also tested the prescribed timelines of 5 and 7 years for slow-down/cessation of relapses in clubfoot children. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed for articles published in "Pubmed (includes Medline indexed journals)" electronic databases using key words: "Clubfoot or CTEV or congenital talipes equinovarus", "Ponseti" for years 1 st January 2001 to 15 th November 2020. Included were studies that addressed treatment of idiopathic clubfoot using the standard Ponseti technique, followed a well defined brace protocol (maintenance of corrected deformity using a central bar based brace and prescribed duration mentioned), reported a minimum mean follow up of 4 years and having relapse as one of their outcome measure. Studies reporting Ponseti technique for non-idiopathic clubfoot, child's age older than 1 year at the time of primary treatment, clubfoot with previous interventions before Ponseti treatment, where relapse and residual deformities were not identified distinctly in follow up, abstract only publications, letter to the editors, case reports, technique papers and review articles were excluded. The following characteristics of clubfoot patients in the selected articles were included for analysis: Patient numbers/feet treated with Ponseti technique; follow up years (<5; 5-7 and >7 years; overall) and corresponding relapse percentages for patients. Results: There were total 2206 patients in the included 24 studies. Average follow up was 6 years. The average relapse rates for clubfoot patients in the pooled data stood at 30%. The overall relapse rates increased with a longer follow up and the curve befitted a linear regression equation with weak positive correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient ¼ 0.08). The relapse rates in follow up categories of <5 years (26.6 ± 15.6%), 5-7 years (30.8 ± 16.3%) and >7 years (28.4 ± 6.2%) were similar statistically (Analysis of variance, ANOVA). Conclusions: Approximately 1 in 3 clubfoot patients suffer relapse post Ponseti technique and standard bracing protocol. A weak positive correlation was observed for relapses when correlated with increasing follow up years. The relapses however tend to slow down after initial growth years. There is a need to educate the care receivers regarding the possibility of late relapses despite proper Ponseti treatment and accordingly to keep them under supervised follow up for longer periods.

The quantity of bone grafts required in certain pediatric conditions is sometimes substantial. This retrospective study details the radiological changes occurring in the donor leg and ankle following the simultaneous harvest of large diaphyseal cortical grafts from the tibia and fibula in 14 children (16 legs). The following preoperative and follow-up radiological parameters were measured and compared for donor legs: the longitudinal continuous regeneration of fibula, distal fibular station, medial proximal tibial angle, lateral distal tibial angle, posterior proximal tibial angle (PPTA), anterior distal tibial angle and interphyseal angle (tibia diaphyseal angulation) in both coronal and sagittal planes. Additionally, the impact of fibular regeneration in combined harvests was separately analyzed. Children were operated at the mean age of 52 months. Mean follow-up of 25.2 months was available. At follow-up, the donor tibia healed completely in all legs whereas fibular regeneration was complete only in 10 legs (62.5%). At follow-up, ankle valgus was present in 6 out of 16 legs (37%) and tibia valga increased in all legs except one (94%). Procurvatum was present in 7 legs. The fibular nonregeneration group was prone to ankle valgus deformity (P = 0.014), valgus angulation of tibial diaphysis (P = 0.0076) and lower mean PPTA (P = 0.026) when compared to the regenerate group. There was a complication of stress fracture in one donor tibia. Combined tibial and fibular harvest is a major surgical undertaking in children. The donor limbs have their share of complications postharvest, more so when the fibula remains nonregenerated. Serial monitoring of donor sites is emphasized.

The systematic review study aimed to investigate the following details in the clubfoot children treated with the Ponseti technique: (1) to review the various designs and prescriptions of unilateral limb orthosis described in literature; (2) to find the outcome following use of this orthosis, especially patient adherence and recurrence; (3) comparison with standard bilateral limb foot abduction orthosis. A literature search was performed for articles published in 'Pubmed (includes Medline indexed journals)' electronic databases for broad key words: 'Clubfoot or CTEV or congenital talipes equinovarus', 'orthosis or brace or splint'. Included were studies that addressed the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot in children up to 2 years of age using the Ponseti technique and use of unilateral limb orthosis for the subsequent maintenance phase. We excluded studies reporting Ponseti technique for nonidiopathic clubfoot, child age older than 2 years at the time of primary treatment, studies where unilateral limb orthosis was used as a tool for primary correction of all or some components of clubfoot and design descriptions of orthosis without practical usage data. Of the 1537 articles from the database, 10 articles were included in the final review. Most studies were retrospective, underpowered and had a short term follow-up. In some series, the use of this orthosis was driven by personal experiences and regional preferences rather than a just scientific explanation. The tested designs were variable and nonstandardized. Being less restrictive, unilateral limb orthosis may have an edge over bilateral limb orthosis in terms of patient adherence. The available comparative studies however showed inferiority of unilateral orthoses when compared to the bilateral limb orthosis in preventing recurrences in clubfoot treatment. There is insufficient evidence to support use of unilateral limb orthosis for maintenance of deformity correction following treatment of clubfoot with the Ponseti technique. Their use was found associated with high recurrence rates.