Are there long-term studies on patients treated with the Ponseti Method?
Yes, the Ponseti method has been in use since about 1950 at the University of Iowa. There have been long term results studies done on patients about every ten years since 1963 (1963, 1972,1980, 1993). They have over 40 years of good outcomes as shown in 4 longer-term studies. There are no studies that directly compare surgical corrections versus corrections obtained using the Ponseti method, there are also no studies of the outcomes of surgical treatment methods that extend longer than about 16 years of age. The Ponseti method studies focused on patient satisfaction and painless functional performance of the foot into adult life. As a side note, the longer term studies on the Ponseti method excluded the mild cases of clubfoot that were corrected in four cast changes or less, and only focused on the severe cases. There is not a universally accepted rating system for assessment of results, so comparisons between studies of different methods are difficult. A well corrected clubfoot should
