Achilles Tendonitis

[Guest]

My son was born in 1992 with severely clubbed feet. The day after he was born casting took place for seven months, then he had his first surgery. At age 5 he has another surgery on the right foot and for the most part his feet have been corrected and he has been walking since 11 months of age. He is now having problems with his foot and leg. He says it burns and hurts in the middle of the bottom part of his foot and the heel cord is tight. My question is....Could you explain what procedure the Doctor will use in lengthening the heel cord. We were told that as he grows the heel cord may have to be lengthened. We are very concerned about the procedure. I hope you can help me find out. Thanks for your help

[Guest]

Tight heel cords, also known as the achilles tendons, can lead to the burning in the foot because the foot cannot function on the ground properly with the heel cord pulling up too much. This surgery is probably the easiest he has undergone. It involves cutting the cord down the middle and then sliding the two sides apart to get the proper length. Once the length is achieved, he will be placed in a cast to let the cord heal at this new length. Physical therapy wil probably be required to help strengthen the area afterwards. Until surgery, make sure he is stretching his heel cords 3-5 times per day. This will help with his pain and may prevent surgery from having to be performed.
[quote] My son was born in 1992 with severely clubbed feet. The day after he was born casting took place for seven months, then he had his first surgery... [/quote]