ACH Visit

August 1st marked the date of Kyler's five year check up with Dr. Aronson at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock. Kyler was born with a Right Clubfoot, also known as talipes equinovarus, is a congenital deformity of the foot that occurs in about 1 in 1,000 births in the United States. The affected foot tends to be smaller than normal, with the heel pointing downward and the forefoot turning inward. The Achilles Tendon is tight, causing the heel to be drawn up toward the leg. This position is referred to as "equinus," and it is impossible to place the foot flat on the ground. Since the condition starts in the first trimester of pregnancy, the deformity is often quite rigid at birth. The condition is treated with serial casting and/or surgery.
We started with the casting. Kyler's first cast was put on when he was thirteen days old. We would go to Dr. Rosenzweig's office every 7-10 days for a new cast and stretching exercises, we would have to soak off the cast he had on the night before our visit. We did that same routine until he was five months old. Then in September 1998 we were referred to Dr. Aronson.
The following is what the medical community knows about Dr. Aronson; he is the recognized leading practitioner of the Ilizarov bone-lengthening technique in the United States. He is one of only a half-dozen orthopaedic surgeons in America who are truly accomplished in this procedure. He studied this unique method of lengthening short limbs from the developer of the process, Professor G.A. Ilizarov in Siberia in the 1980s and was the first to bring it to this country. It is a complex procedure involving the severing of bones and attachment of external metal fixators (braces) to stretch them as they heal. He is a professor in the Departments of Orthopaedics surgery and pediatrics at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), he received the international Nicolas Andry Award in 2003 from the Association of Bone & Joint Surgeons. Dr. Aronson earned his M.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1975. He served a one-year residency in general surgery at Maine Medical Center in Portland and a four-year residency in orthopaedics at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, before coming to UAMS in 1984.
This is what we know about him. On our first visit to ACH he came into the room and examined Kyler and talked to us briefly and said, "With a simple procedure I will fix your son's foot." Not "I can", but "I will" and he did. On February 3, 1999 we had the surgery to correct the defect. He came out of surgery with two pins in his foot, one on top and one on bottom, holding it at a ninety degree angle and a cast up to his hip with his knee bent slightly. Four weeks later we headed back to Little Rock for the removal of the pins and the last cast, a smaller, lighter one that stopped right below his knee. At the end of March Kyler was out of his cast and we saw his foot straight and flat on the floor for the first time, he was almost 11 months old.

This visit was the first time Kyler was able to tell him about his love of baseball. As I watched Kyler tell this man about playing in the World Series, pitching a no hitter, playing catcher and making the plays at the plate and throwing guys out at second I noticed how Dr. Aronson looked at him as if everything that Kyler was saying was the most important thing in the world. He was truly interested in what he had to say. He wanted to know is batting average, his ERA, he made notes in his chart about what he was telling him. I watched the two of them connect for the first time. They were looking at each other, Kyler was saying thank you and Dr. Aronson said your welcome.

Then the doctor quizzed Kyler on famous athletes who were born with a clubfoot/feet. Kyler knew a few like figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, soccer star Mia Hamm, football quarterback Troy Aikman and football kicker and announcer Pat Summerall. Dr. Aronson then told him about baseball pitchers Larry Sherry & Jim Mecir, and infielder Freddy Sanchez. Kyler later told me that someday his name will be added to that list.
Dr. Aronson, is an accomplished surgeon, he has won many awards for his research and work in the orthopaedic field, however for us his greatest work was done on February 3, 1999.