Dennis Brown Splint / Bar

D ennis Brown Splint / Bar Thirty years ago, in a large town in north central British Columbia, Canada, one of the two doctors in family practice opened a “Well Baby” Clinic. Because I was an adult with a medical condition requiring weekly blood tests, it was decided to take me at that time to avoid patients with illnesses. Over the next two years I was an observer of the Well Baby Clinic. There were four examining rooms and a large waiting area. Babies were being brought in to be weighed, measured, and vaccinated. Soon I became aware of what appeared to be an increasing number of babies with orthopedic problems. Frequently I saw babies being brought in kicking and squealing in cute little baby booties, and then carried out from the examining rooms either totally silent or crying in brand new corrective shoes attached to a metal bar. Babies in the waiting area who were already wearing theses shoes with the bar had their feet severely angled in an over-corrected position, pointing either out or in. This was the time of stay-at-home mothers, and excellent medical plans. As word spread, some mothers were driving a couple of hours to have their babies evaluated at the clinic. “Tibial Torsion” became a new phrase for young families. The doctor had stocked a store room of different sizes of shoes and bars so he could fit any baby immediately. If a mother was reluctant at first, the peer pressure in the waiting area was sufficient to convince her to have her baby treated also. There were frequent visits to the doctor so he could check on progress and make adjustments, and change shoes and bars as needed. Most of these babies needed help to sit up. They were hampered in crawling by the severe angles of the shoes attached to the bars. Some attempted standing by holding on to furniture but were frustrated by not being able to walk. As babies got too heavy to carry everywhere, the mother’s had to use strollers. As the babies got older some were ingenious at trying to untie the shoes. When the babies, now toddlers, reached the end of the corrective shoes and bar sizes, and achieved the last adjustments, their mothers were referred to the local shoe store, where the toddlers were fitted with high top orthopedic boots. Some of them had prescriptions for the local shoemaker to adjust shoes to further prevent any recurrence of out-toeing or in-toeing. Some of the more anxious mothers had their toddlers measured and fitted with AFO’s and T-straps to correct any lingering problems of leg-bowing. The AFO’s in common use had a calf band attached to two metal bars, with ankle T-straps, and attached to high top orthopedic boots. Over the years, the doctor had created a lucrative practice, which he later sold, and moved to Vancouver.