Before we go on, so who is this Dr. Ponseti anyway?

Dr. Ponseti is the man who pioneered the method we are using. He is 90-ish yrs old and still sees babies out at the U of Iowa hospital. You can read more in the links, but basically, years and years ago, after studying clubfeet carefully, he came to see that the tendons and ligaments in clubfeet are actually very flexible and could be manipulated into the correct position. With this deformity, the feet are actually formed normally in the womb, but something happens in the 2nd trimester that causes them to twist and tighten. Lots of speculations as to why, and hopefully they'll find answers soon. We will actually be participating in a study through the University of Texas to help find the clubfoot gene.

Anyway, back to Dr. Ponseti. Unfortunately, many other collegues dismissed his ideas and continued to do surgeries. It has only been recently, with the advent of the internet, that families using this method have made websites and help spread the information that there is an alternative. More and more doctors are now being trained in this way and there have been projects set up overseas to teach it. This is especially important in poor countries that don't have the resources or money for surgeries. The Ponseti method is low cost and easy to do.

Dr. Ponseti has a lot of grateful parents out there and a lot of happy babies too.
People call him Papa Ponseti for a reason.