Development of a Customised Novel Model for Surgical Planning in Paediatric Flat Foot Corrective Surgery

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Children often suffer from 'Flatfoot' a condition associated with foot arch flattening and extreme foot joints malalignment. True incidence of flatfoot is unknown, but according to several studies 50% of children have flatfoot initially which while growing corrects itself by developing a normal foot arch, ending with 10% of adolescents still having the condition. Treatment depends on the type of flatfoot. Surgery is recommended when patients experience pain, to prevent disability and arthritis in adulthood. However, surgery brings its own challenges. Given the complex structure and the not fully understood foot biomechanics, there is no universal agreement on how to treat flatfoot successfully and no optimal surgical methodology has yet been established. Surgical planning still today relies on educated guessing by the foot surgeon based on experience, therefore there is a lot of disagreement about optimal surgery for individual patients. This research project aims to develop a parametric model to improve our understanding of flatfoot surgery. The project entails foot scans, parametric modelling, tissue assessment, geometrical analysis and pressure mapping on the floor both pre- and post-surgery. Successful surgery greatly improves the quality of life of the patients. On the other hand, unsuccessful surgery raises questions and may lead to litigation and expensive after surgery care; so this new surgical planning 'tool' will safeguard against failures, failures being painful, embarrassing and costly!