Evaluation of the treatment of clubfeet with the Dimeglio score

Between January 1994 and November 1997, 17 children with 25 clubfeet were treated and evaluated. This group was divided into a group of only conservatively treated feet (group A, n = 13) and a group of feet which had conservative treatment and complementary operative treatment (group B, n = 12). Both groups were evaluated according to the Dimeglio classification method in which the objective clinical evaluation is scored only. This was performed for the starting-point (at presentation until 2 weeks after birth), with the necessary information received from the patient's files where all the passive limitations were recorded in a standardized way and also for the end-point (at the time of the follow-up). After comparing these results to each other, all 25 feet had improved after treatment and the operative group had improved more than the conservative group, however the end result was equal, because the operated feet were more severely deformed before the treatment. After treatment, the results were considered acceptable in 92% of the feet, comparable to 93%, 75-85%, 88%, 77%, and 96% in other studies. Moreover, the forefoot adduction was the most common residual sign in the treated feet, confirmed by results in other studies. We conclude that the Dimeglio method is an appropriate tool for the follow-up of clubfeet from birth to the end of treatment.