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You may be surprised to learn, but some famous celebrities and athletes were born with clubfoot, here are just a few!
Comedian/actor Damon Wayans is famous for starring in the TV show 'My Wife And Kids,' but he was also born with a clubfoot. He was reportedly teased as a child and learned to fend off putdowns, which later led him to stand-up comedy.
Another comic actor was born with a clubfoot is Dudley Moore, who starred in 'Arthur' and several other films; prior to that he was part of a comedy team with Peter Cook.
Superbowl MVP Troy Aikman played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, but few people know that he had a clubfoot at birth and was in plaster casts until he was 8 months old, then he wore special shoes until he was 3 years old. Since then he has not suffered from any form of club foot.
Another pro football player, Charles Woodson, who played for the Oakland Raisers, was also born with a clubfoot, which was later corrected.
Top female athlete Mia Hamm was a member of the U.S. women's soccer team, which competed in the 1996 Olympics. Like Aikman and Woodson, her clubfoot was also treated at a young age.
Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi is a famous professional figure skater, but few know that her clubfoot was treated with serial manipulations and casting before she hit the ice and won the gold.
Most babies with clubfoot can be diagnosed before birth with a painless ultrasound. Studies show that 10% of clubfoot cases can actually be discovered in the fetus as early as 13 weeks. At 24 weeks into a pregnancy, about 80% of clubfoot cases can be found. The further along into pregnancy, the easier it is to see a clubfoot in an ultrasound. It is important to note that there is approximately a 20% false positive rate based on ultrasound diagnosis.
If a diagnosis of clubfoot is made before birth, then it's a good idea to talk to an orthopedic surgeon on how to fix your baby's clubfoot immediately after it is born. Once the baby is born, diagnosis of the clubfoot may also include an x-ray or a CT scan. This is done so that the doctor can see exactly how the foot's bones, ligaments and tendons are affected. Clubfoot in newborns is fairly easy to diagnose.
As these celebrities have shown, clubfoot can be corrected via the Ponseti Method, which has become the accepted first-line of treatment for clubfoot.
