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Saturday, September 22, 2007

Kohler's disease

What's that you say? My thoughts exactly! On Wednesday I took T Jay to the Dr. because he has been complaining off and on about his foot hurting him. A friend of mine also commented about him having a limp while running at soccer. At the Dr., he really couldn't find anything wrong so he ordered X-rays of his feet. He told me that they would get the X-rays back later and he would call me if they found anything, and if they didn't, he would refer me to a podiatrist to further investigate the problem. I took T Jay to school and went home to clean. At 11:30 Maj. Ledwitch called me back and told me they found that T Jay had Kohler's disease in his tarsal navicular bone, and that he made me a 1:00 appt. with the orthopedic Dr.. Basically, that bone isn't getting the proper blood flow and is shriveling and dying. They say that it is caused by stress during a crucial time . They treat it by casting it so that the area can rest and begin to regenerate bone growth. T Jay will be in a cast for one month and then they will take another set of X-rays to check progress. Typically, after casting, they still have to take it easy for about a year, sometimes two before the bone is 100%. Notice that his cast is red, his favorite color. He was very pleased by this. He is not at all upset about having a cast on. He finds it rather cool. He is not even up set about missing the rest of soccer. He was more upset about having to miss school twice in one day!
Here, he is showing off his walking shoe AND his Jenga-Fet gun. Clearly he's proud of both

25 comments:

Happy said...

What???? Who's ever heard of that?? Wow! That's cute that he's excited about the cast's color and upset about missing school!

Maggie Roe said...

Here is a link for those who want more info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohler%27s_disease

What a trooper you have there Kelli. You have earned your right to wear that Mother of the Year pin this week!

Seth said...

I'm glad his leg is doing ok and he likes his cast. What a great attitude he has! I'm glad his only disappointment was missing school and that this will all work itself out and isn’t permanent.

Cara Fish said...

Interesting. I always wanted a cast growing up. Now, looking back, I am glad I didn't have one. I am glad he likes it - for now. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is Liz Rae and I live in Australia. I'm in the same position as you with my 5 year old just being told the same thing, My local doctor in his 30 odd years hasn't had a case and is therefore unaware of actual treatment outcomes etc other than what hes read up on. But unfortunately we am having a very hard time getting a surgeon to even see us, they can fit us in in about three to four months, no advice or what to do till then. None of them have even bothered to call me and explain any thing. Its very frustrating, I hope you post your progress with this strange condition, its nice to know other people are experiencing the same thing. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

hi my name is dianne and live in scotland i have kohlers but the differnce is i am 41 it was only picked up a few years ago when i damaged my foot i am due to go into hospital to have my bones fused together am going to be in cast for 6 weeks and from there who knows the pain right now is horrendous.........

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is Tracey, i am 44 yrs old
I was diagnosed with Kohlers and arthritis in both feet 5yrs ago.
On 31st May 2007 i had a bone fusion and bone graft operation on my left foot.I was in plaster for three months and then two months partial weight bearing in a boot,and 1month full weight bearing in the boot.
Nearly eight months later, i am at the stage where i can walk(with a crutch) in my plimsoles around the house and on smooth surfaces only.
Anywhere else i have to wear the boot.I am waiting for made to measure insoles that i will have to wear in my footwear, but i can then stop wearing the boot and hopefully get rid of the crutch.Unfortunatly there is not a lot of information about Kohlers Disease, and a lot of doctors have not heard of it. It usually only affects children who with rest normally make a full recovery.
I hope your son gets better soon.

connie said...

My son was diagnosed with Kohler's Disease in his left foot February 2008. He was in a cast 4 weeks. He will have an x-ray of his foot every few months for the next year or so. I hope your son is recovering well.

Connie

Anonymous said...

How is your son now? My son was in cast for month with what they thought was foot fracture now still bad and they think Kohler's. She said possible cast for couple of months (jus tin time for soccer)

chrissie & flynn said...

Hi my name is Chrissie, my 7 year old son has Kohler's and has been in a cast for a week (also red his fav colour) and has 2 more to go before we go into a Moonboot. I am so glad he is now pain free as he is in a wheelchair and nonweight bearing but would love to hear how others got on, does it become painfull once he starts walking on it again? Our Dr is sending us for a second opinion as he thinks he's old for Kohler's. I'd love to hear how you're progressing. Hope it's going well.
Chrissie

Anonymous said...

I've just found out today (and I've noticed that it's exactly 1 year to the day that your son was diagnosed) that my 7 year old son has kohlers disease. I came home right away, & googled the name. I came upon your blog. I was wondering how your son is doing now that it's been a year. How long did he have to wear his cast? We live in a 2 story home, and of course my husband is deployed to Iraq! I'm wondering how well your son got around with the cast on? Any comments or suggestions before we go to have Ryan's put on next week? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Our son was diagnosed with Kohlers on the 23rd Sept 2008- we have not even had an appointment to see anyone in order to find out if he will need a cast and he is having to manage at school on crutches. Amy, may I ask if you live in England, how long did it take you to get booked in for a cast?

Anonymous said...

That's ridiculous! We live in Tampa, Florida. The foot & ankle specialist wanted to put the cast on the day that we went to see her. I wanted to wait 6 weeks (until my husband returns from his tour in Iraq) & the specialist said no. He's had his cast on for a week now. Until the bone is healed (with the help from the cast) there is not proper blood flow to that area. I would suggest finding somebody else to look at your son. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Amy,

Thanks for your reply. I have since hassled the hospital and his cast will be put on this afternoon. Bear in mind it is all free here on the National Health Service, so we are used to putting up with hanging around a bit!! The delay was caused by the paediatric surgeon being on holiday so the adult's orthopaedic surgeon has stepped in to get this done.

How is your son doing now?

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Never done this before, but can't seem to find enough info. about the symptoms of Kohler's online. Can you tell me about your son's complaints before this was diagnosed? I have a 3 1/2 year old son who complains on and off about his feet hurting, sometimes screaming in pain. I took him to the ortho last week, and she called them "growing pains" and said he's flat-footed, so that could be the problem too, but made no suggestions other than sit around and wait. She hardly even looked at his feet though; he broke his leg earlier in the summer, so she was concentrating on making sure it had healed properly and wasn't reinjured. After doing an internet search on foot pain in children, this diagnosis seems the most likely. Some web-site said just wait and they should outgrow it. Wondering if I should search for a pedi podiatrist or search for a second pedi ortho for a second opinion?

goofybaby said...

my name is autumn my son is 2 and i was wondering if he has this kholers yesturday after his bath we were playing on the floor and he started crying and holding his foot! the same thing happened today he wont walk on it alot hes been sitting down all day when he does get up hes limping around. worried about my lil guy. what do you think...he has a doctors app. tomarrow

Anonymous said...

Hey, We live in Melbourne, Australia and my 5 year old boy Bailey has just been diagnosed with Kohler's Disease. It was a long process. He was walking with a limp quite pronounced for about a week but with little or no pain, just a red spot on inside of his foot. First doctor told me it was all in his head for attention! Second Doctor said "growing pains" should go away, by this stage Bailey was walking on the side of his foot and limping quite badly. Third doctor took xrays at my insistance but could not read them or see anything wrong, I could not wait any longer for a referral and went to the hospital with xrays and again sent us home without answers. After googling the symptoms I could now cleary see on the xrays the bone problem and took Bailey back to the hospital with all the printouts and info I had. The emergency department started again thinking a rolled ankle etc. until I showed the xrays and the google reports, they finally called in five more doctors who have never seen this condition, he was put in a cast immediately and should make a full recovery after 6-8 weeks and take it easy after that. I was so glad to finally get people to listen to us. Bailey is in a wheelchair and finds it really cool at school as he is in prep and the other kids "treat him like a movie star". If you suspect anything is not right go with your motherly instincts until you get an answer, thank goodness for Google!!! XX

Podiatrist Melbourne said...

Hey, nice site you have here! Keep up the excellent work!

Anonymous said...

In 1990 when my son was 3 he had Kohlers disease. However, it took weeks of hospital visits for me to convince doctors that there was something wrong and before they would even do an x-ray. No internet then of course and very little information so when I asked for them to put a cast on his foot they refused! He did eventually get an arch support made to wear in his shoe - I am so glad times have chnaged!

Anonymous said...

Hi. My son was diagnosed with Kohler's last weekend. He will be fitted with a cast on Thursday of this week. I wanted to know how your son handled the cast as my 4 year old is very active and I'm not sure if this will restrict is outdoor activities, etc. Any feedback is welcome. Monica

Anonymous said...

Hi, I live in Adelaide, South Australia. My son was 5yrs when he first commented on foot pain.

We went through 3mths of doctor/hospital appointments & specialist appointments before his pain finally got so bad he couldn't even walk.

I'm a full time single mum & felt like I was being treated as overbearing neurotic mother. Finally I gave up caring what the medical profession thought of me, I went with my gut and DEMANDED X-rays.

Astonishingly he was STILL miss diagnosed, even with clear X-rays. I sought a second opinion & finally my son got the treatment he needed.

6 months on, he has had 2 casts & 2 moon boots. I understand this will be a long slow process, but will continue to push for casts or support through moon boot as my sons pain dictactes.

Doctors are great & we'd be lost without them, but only a mum know truly knows what their child is going through. As one blogger already said, thank god for google and sights like this one!!

Now I'm stuck with the problem of how to entertain a very active child who has limited mobility.

Tips or ideas anyone?

Keeps the posts coming. & ALWAYS trust your gut xx

shalou31 said...

Sons been diagnosed today after 6 wks poorly with blood Infection staphylococcus thought painful foot brought on by infection causing cellulitis, mystotis or septic joint arthritis, has a cast already but seems will have to be but more permanent after being told his true diagnosis,advice greatly received

Tanja K said...

Hi Kelli! I just found out that my two year old going on three has Kohlers Disease. I would love to speak to you about it.

YelenaR said...

Hi Kelli I just came across your blog. My son is 6 and just got diagnosed. He has no pain so we stumbled upon this by pure chance. He will be getting his foot cast in a couple weeks. How is your son doing now? How long did he wear the cast and how diligent was he to remain non weight bearing? Also do you know what the prognosis is? Can this occur again in the future ?

Kathey said...

When my daughter was 3 she kept complaining about foot pain off and on our family doctor couldn't found anything wrong with her foot so we were told after being refered to a specialist that she has kohlers diease my husband and I were scared but the speicalist reassured us that she would be fine no cast no boot just give her something for pain when she hurt she is now almost 6 and enjoying life dancing and doing all the things a child does.