Club Foot

Talipes (latin for clubfoot) is a generic term for any foot deformity that centers around the talus. Equinus implies that the foot is flexed in the plantar direction. The term talipes equinocavovarus is sometimes used to denote the varying amounts of cavus of the forefoot evident in patients with clubfeet. Clubfoot or talipes equinovarus is the most common congenital orthopedic anomaly. Children with untreated clubfoot are still seen in underdeveloped countries. The deformity can be quite severe, with the sole of the foot pointing backward. The dorsum of the foot becomes the weight bearing surface, so that the child walks on the head and neck of the talus. With a severe untreated talipes equinovarus, a child walks on the ankle instead of the sole of the foot, the heel is in equines pointing down like a horse's hoof, & the front of the foot is in varus, twisted toward the midline.