Free treatment given at Benguet hospital on World Clubfoot Day

June 18, 2019 Provincial

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Benguet General Hospital celebrated World Clubfoot Day giving free or extremely low-cost treatment to patients who received it on Monday, June 10, 2019 in partnership with Miracle Feet, an international organization that aims to increase access to proper treatment for children born with clubfoot in low and middle-income countries through partnerships with local healthcare providers.
Clubfoot is a deformity where an infant’s foot is turned inward often so severely that the bottom of the foot faces sideways or even upwards.
Approximately one infant in every 1,000 live births will have clubfoot, making it one of the more common congenital (present at birth) foot deformities.
Most cases of clubfoot are successfully treated with nonsurgical methods that may include a combination of stretching, casting, and bracing.
Treatment usually begins shortly after birth. More than sixty babies and infants with clubfoot were given free treatment at the Benguet General Hospital with the aid of Miracle Feet Organization that started the program in March this year.
Orthopedic Surgeon and Consultant Jean Pierre Leung said they are blessed with this partnership for the big help that clubfoot patients in Benguet receive, especially those families who can’t afford the treatment.
“We have been treating clubfeet for the past 19 years, kaya lang dati sariling gastos ng pasyente, it’s pretty more expensive but since the partnership with Miracle started, mas may provider na kami, they help woth logistics which means sila nagbabayad nga gastusin ng pasyente,” Dr. Leung during said in an interview.
Leung said the program will be a great platform to help more patients not only in Benguet but the entire region.
 
Paul Brian Tulioc Baldoza, UC Intern/AB