Treatment of Cleft Foot Deformity using Fish Mouth Incision and Suture-Button in Paediatric Foot: A case report

Cleft foot is a congenital anomaly characterised by absence of the metatarsal bones and phalanges. It is commonly seen in children with ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-clefting syndrome ranging from a median cleft up to the mid metatarsals to a deep cleft up to the tarsal bones. Surgical treatment in the form of cleft closure, excision of the rudimentary metatarsal bone and cross K-wire fixation of metatarsal bones have been tried for the management of such cases. We report a one-year-old child who presented to the paediatric orthopaedic clinic at a medical college in New Delhi, India, in 2018 with type III cleft foot with four metatarsals. The patient was treated with a suture-button system using three transverse tunnels in the second and third metatarsal bones in order to bring them closer together. A satisfactory outcome was achieved with normal fitting footwear.