Treatment of severe and neglected clubfoot with a double zigzag incision: outcome of 21 feet in 15 patients followed up between 1 and 5 years.

Patients presenting late for treatment of clubfoot deformity are still common in many parts of the world. These feet are often rigid and severely deformed. Surgical correction is the prevailing option to attain a plantigrade foot, and the extent of correction required predisposes to wound-healing problems. We present the results of treatment of 15 patients (21 feet) with severe, untreated congenital talipes equino varus, who underwent operations using a double zigzag incision as a single-stage procedure. These patients ranged in age from 6 months to 4 years and presented late, having received no treatment or inadequate treatment since birth. The desired end point of the study was a fully corrected foot with a wound that would heal primarily without complications. The etiology was isolated congenital talipes equino varus in 11 patients and arthrogryposis multiplex congenita in 4 patients. Eleven patients were boys and 4 were girls; 6 patients underwent bilateral procedures. The patients were graded preoperatively and postoperatively using the Dimeglio classification, with 10 feet classified preoperatively as grade 3 and 11 graded as grade 4. Desired correction was achieved in all feet, and all wounds healed uneventfully with no complications. This single-stage technique is very safe and cost-effective and is an easy alternative to standard techniques for dealing with late-presenting untreated severe clubfoot deformities.