Anantnag: CURE International India Trust (CIIT) J&K Saturday held a day-long continuing medical education (CME) at Government Medical College (GMC) hospital here to train doctors and medical assistants in the treatment of clubfoot.
According to a press note, it was the fifth refresher training on the Ponseti method of clubfoot management and the programme was run in collaboration with GMC’s department of orthopedics and spine surgery
Noted orthopedic surgeons Dr Mathew Varghese and Dr Vikas Gupta delivered lectures on the Ponseti method of clubfoot management and the latest techniques to treat clubfoot across the world.
The duo performed the tenotomy and casts to the patients on spot to raise awareness among the participating doctors in effectively treating the clubfoot.
“Our experts Dr Varghese and Dr Gupta spoke about the spectrum of clubfoot deformity and other related issues, said Rubia Hamid, State Programme Coordinator (CIIT) J&K.
CIIT runs its programme in J&K with a goal to eradicate disability caused by clubfoot. Currently, it runs six clinics in the state.
“We are smoothly running the programmes in the state and our clinics are functional at GMC hospital Anantnag, SKIMS Medical College Bemina, JLNM hospital Rainawari, Bone and Joint hospital Srinagar, GMC Jammu and Government hospital Gandhi Nagar, Jammu,” Hamid said.
“We have over 1800 children enrolled with us in the entire state to whom we are providing free treatment, besides free braces to the children with deformity.”
According to CIIT, over 150 children are born with clubfoot in India every day.
The programme aims to enlighten the public that clubfoot can be treated and neglected clubfoot leads to lifetime disability.
“CIIT’s programme has benefited a lot of parents and our active collaboration with the organization in terms of performing casts and tenotomy on the children born with deformity is moving in a right direction to eradicate the clubfoot,” Dr Younis Kamal, head of the department orthopedics and spine surgery said.
“People whose children are born with clubfoot can get the treatment and braces free of cost at designated hospitals where CIIT is running the programme.”
Clubfoot is a deformity present from birth that severely twists the foot downward and inward, making walking difficult or impossible.
“While clubfoot cannot be prevented, it can be corrected, and the treatment at our clinics is free of cost,” said District Programme Coordinator, Anantnag. Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) Anantnag provides free of cost plaster to the children born with clubfoot.
Doctors say clubfoot is apparent at birth. Despite its appearance, it is painless in infants. Eventually, however, clubfoot does cause discomfort and is a noticeable disability.
“If ignored walking will become difficult or impossible, and the longer the condition goes without treatment, the more complicated and expensive correction will become.
GMC Anantnag Principal Dr.Syed Tariq Qureshi thanked experts from CIIT for holding the CME and expressed hope that it will hold such programs in the future as well.