Well today we went to Dr. Mohammad Diab at UCSF and let me tell you I loved him! I kind of wished he wasn't so specialized because that's how much I liked him. But thankfully we won't need to see him again (unless Kau'e is that 1%).
Dr. Diab is a top pediatric orthopedic surgeon and one that has top reviews. He was very kind to us and very friendly. He couldn't believe that Kau'e was a preemie and even joked with us that we weren't feeding him enough! Ha! When he found out that Romulo was Brazilian he turned to me and asked if Romulo was pathologically happy? He told us that he and his wife had spent some time in Brazilian and they never came across any Brazil that wasn't happy all the time!
Kau'e for whatever reason was not very happy during this visit. The second we stepped out of the elevator he started to cry. It wasn't a normal cry it was his scared cry and we've only heard it a hand full of times. We tried everything to calm him down before we saw the doctor but nothing worked. It wasn't until we saw the doctor that he started to calm down a little. And even then I couldn't talk or move him around because if I did any of those two things he started to cry again. We apologized to the doctor but he told us not to worry about it because he too has some cranky kids at home!
Dr. Diab told me that I could hold Kau'e in my arms, that he could do all the examination that he needed with him in my arms. He checked Kau'e's neck, back, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and then lastly his ankles/feet. He walked us through what he saw and what he would like to see.
After the exam, he informed us that Kau'e has a mild (or in his words benign) case of Metatarsus Adductus. Metatarsus Adductus is the bones in the front half of the foot that bend or turn in toward the body. The front of the foot is bent or angled in toward the middle of the foot. The back of the foot and the ankles are normal. About half of children with metatarsus adductus have the problem in both feet.
Dr. Diab told us that it was harsh to label it as a foot deformity because 99% of kids that have this condition fixes or straightens out by themselves without having to do anything medically. And that with the 1% of cases they see they won't do anything medically until children are at least 5 years old. He informed us to not discourage Kau'e in wanting to stand on his feet/ankles that his bones are too soft to hurt him. He also told us that if you look at all professional athletes that the bests are usually the ones who have a little bending of the foot inward.
Kau'e will not need anything to correct his feet unless we feel like its getting worse or not improving by the time he's ready or is walking. We will not need a follow up visit unless we feel like things aren't improving by the time he's 5 years old. The doctor told us that 99% of these cases correct themselves so no need to put corrective shoes on him.
Below are some pictures of Kau'e's feet. They aren't the best but to give you an idea of what he's look like over his short, almost 1 week away, 5 months of life!
