Start here

A plain-language entry point for adults living with long-term complications after childhood clubfoot surgery, and for the people who help them navigate care.

This is not a care plan for any individual. Bring questions to licensed clinicians who can evaluate your specific case.

Suggested pathway

1. Understand the common long-term patterns (Domain 1) — how childhood posteromedial release / soft-tissue procedures can lead to adult-onset chronic wounds, deformity, gait change, and neuropathy.
2. Know what a thorough workup looks like (Domain 2) — weight-bearing imaging, vascular assessment (ABI/TBI/TcPO2), neurological evaluation, and pressure mapping.
3. Stabilize wounds and offload pressure (Domain 3) — TIME principle, advanced dressings, NPWT, HBOT, and total-contact casting.
4. Review reconstructive options with the right team (Domain 4) — triple arthrodesis, ankle arthrodesis, osteotomies, tendon transfers, revision surgery, and amputation versus limb salvage.
5. Use How to choose a specialist — criteria first, location second. Geography is a filter, not a default.
6. Read the evidence matrix to weigh the literature behind each option, and the glossary for plain-language definitions.

Questions to bring to your first consultation

• What specific childhood procedure(s) did I have, and what are the expected long-term sequelae documented in the literature?
• What is my vascular and neurological status, and how does it affect wound healing?
• Is my wound driven primarily by structural deformity? (If so, offloading alone is unlikely to break recurrence.)
• Which specialists should be involved, and what fellowship training should I look for in a surgeon for complex deformity / limb salvage?

Seek urgent care for signs of infection (fever, spreading redness, drainage, severe pain) or acute limb loss of blood flow.