Advise about Club Foot - Children's Health Message Board

josh1974 · 01-31-2007, 08:07 PM

My child was born with a club foot and has been getting treatment ever
since.
It was getting better for a while but it has been turning back in
lately and the doctor believes she needs to go through the minor
surgery to move one ligament to treat this.
I cannot get any insurance policy to cover this surgery, it looks like
I will have to find a way to pay for this out of pocket.
I was hoping that someone who has gone through this could respond and
give me an idea of what kind of cost is associated with this surgery.

LisaFaith · 02-01-2007, 03:00 PM

I am shocked to hear that insurance wouldn't cover a procedure to help your child! I don't have any idea about cost, but once you know what you're looking at, you could contact your local news station. They might be willing to do a story on your daughter, and how insurance won't pay for the surgery that she needs, and how you can't really afford it, and MAYBE you will get donations from the public. Maybe even a wonderful doctor might do the surgery pro bono! Who knows, anything is possible...

kathya · 02-01-2007, 08:04 PM

Contact your local Shriners organization. I know there is one in Jacksonville because we were there a few years ago for a convention. They will evaluate your child, and if she qualifies, they will send her to a Shriners Hospital and all care will be free, for as long as it takes to fix her foot.
If you have a problem finding a Shriner in your area, let me know and I will ask my husband's group for information.

sara31773 · 02-16-2007, 09:20 PM

Have you gotten a second opinion? I don't know the age of your child or the severity of the club foot, but I'd be concerned if this surgery was really necessary. I had club feet as a baby and my ped at one point wanted to do surgery. My mother said "no". I wore casts for a while and then corrective shoes for a while after that. I turned out just fine.