PCP Celebrates World Club Foot Day

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jun, 2024) Paraplegic Center Peshawar (PCP) organized a grand event to mark World Club Foot Day at Hayatabad besides distributing gifts to children with clubfoot children and allowing their parents to share their experiences regarding the treatment and performance of the center.

Director General of Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), Capt (R) Khalid Mehmood, attended the event as the chief guest. He interacted with the children, their parents and distributed gifts and sweets among them.

Capt Mehmood was delighted to note that effective and free treatment was being provided at the Paraplegic Center, which enabled children with clubfoot to recover in just a few years and participate in normal activities, including sports and education.

He praised the excellent services provided at the center and congratulated the staff for their successful efforts. He also commended Dr. Ilyas Syed for organizing much more for free treatment and rehabilitation of spinal cord injury patients, establishing a state-of-the-art factory for manufacturing assistive devices, and setting up a clinic for children with speech and autism spectrum disorders.

Additionally, Dr. Syed launched Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) and Occupational Therapy (OT) degree programs. Capt Mehmood assured the center of his full support in this regard.

Dr. Syed Mohammad Ilyas, Chief Executive of Paraplegic Center, and Dr. Amir Zeb, Director of Rehabilitation and Club Foot Program Coordinator, elaborated the free treatment program and announced plans to establish more Club Foot clinics in various cities and districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dr. Ilyas stated that since 2018, the Paraplegic Center Peshawar has provided free treatment to children with clubfoot, including complete rehabilitation from initial casting to 4-5 years of follow-up.

Even transportation expenses are covered for deserving families to ensure no child is left untreated due to financial constraints.

DG PDA also lauded that, 3,666 children with clubfoot have been treated or registered in this program in short period since 2018.

Besides clubfoot clinics have also been established in major hospitals across the province, including Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar, Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals Swat, and Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad.

A clinic is also operational at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in Islamabad. Dr. Ilyas emphasized the importance of International Clubfoot Day in raising awareness about this birth defect, which affects millions of people globally but is completely treatable with timely intervention.

The Day aims to encourage children undergoing treatment and honor the medical professionals dedicated to this cause, he added. He highlighted that 8.9 million children worldwide are born with clubfoot, with 7.8 million living with permanent disability due to lack of treatment.

Almost 200,000 children are born with clubfoot annually, but over 95% can fully recover with timely treatment, he asserted. Dr. Ilyas mentioned about Miracle Feet (MF), an organization committed to treating clubfoot by partnering with local health institutions.

He said MF utilize the Ponseti technique, which includes weekly plaster casts and a simple Achilles tendon tenotomy, followed by the use of special DB shoes during sleep times of clubfoot children for 4-5 years to prevent recurrence.

He said since its establishment in 2010, Miracle Feet has opened 433 clinics in 37 countries, treating over 95,000 children with clubfoot. Capt (R) Muhammad Khalid, Dr. Syed Muhammad Ilyas, and Dr. Amir Zeb mingled with the children and their parents, distributing gifts and sweets amongst them to celebrate the occasion.