Congenital cleft foot deformity

Cleft foot or ectrodactyly is a rare congenital anomaly. It is often associated with cleft hands. Most early authors advised non-operative treatment but more recently surgical treatment has been advised. However the last two decades have seen a trend towards surgical management of these deformities. Most authors agree that whilst cosmesis is an important consideration, the main aim of correction is to provide feet which could fit into normal shoes and to provide or maintain a normal functional foot. We describe our experience with five feet in three patients treated surgically as a one step procedure as opposed to a staged approach