Clubfoot
Disease Information
Tests
At Children’s Hospital Boston, we know that the first step to treating your child’s club foot is to form a timely, complete and accurate diagnosis.
Prenatal diagnosis
Most of the time, a baby’s clubfoot is diagnosed prenatally (before birth) with ultrasound.* About 10 percent of clubfeet can be diagnosed as early as 13 weeks into pregnancy. By 24 weeks, about 80 percent of clubfeet can be diagnosed, and this number steadily increases until birth.
If your child isn’t diagnosed prenatally, clubfoot can be seen and diagnosed at birth.
*One caveat: There’s about a 20 percent false-positive rate with ultrasound diagnosis.
Diagnosis after birth
Exams and tests that may help confirm a diagnosis of club foot include:
- physical exam, including a complete family history
- x-ray
- computerized tomography scan (CT or CAT scan)
| Our Orthopedic Clinical Effectiveness Research Center (CERC) |
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Children’s Orthopedic Clinical Effectiveness Research Center (CERC) was established by the Orthopedic Center to improve the quality of life for children with musculoskeletal disorders. This collaborative clinical research program is unique in the nation and is playing an instrumental role in establishing, for the first time, evidence-based standards of care for pediatric orthopedic patients throughout the world. |
| If you come from far away, we can help |
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As an international pediatric orthopedics center, Children’s cares for young patients from all over the world. Our International Center assists families residing outside the United States: facilitating the medical review of patient records; coordinating appointment scheduling; and helping families with customs and immigration, transportation, hotel and housing accommodations. |
