Most. Tabassum A., 4

Most. Tabassum Akter is a cheerful and affectionate little girl who lives with her parents and family in a poor rural village of Rangpur, where her father struggles to support five family members with only about 5,000 taka per month from farming. Despite her painful condition, Tabassum always tries to smile, play, and walk on her own, but the deformity in both of her feet has made every step difficult and painful. Her parents already spent what little they had on plaster cast treatments, yet her condition did not improve, leaving the family unable to afford the urgent surgery now needed. Doctors have warned that without proper surgical correction, her feet may become more rigid and permanently deformed, causing lifelong disability, severe walking problems, and loss of normal mobility. Her family learned about Helpster Charity through local youth volunteers and now hopes for support so Tabassum can walk, play, and live a healthy childhood like other children.

Most Tabassum Akter was born with a complex deformity in both feet, which made standing and walking very difficult for her. Following the doctors’ recommendations, she first underwent staged corrective treatment and serial casting. However, as sufficient improvement was not achieved, she later successfully underwent surgery. Currently, Tabassum is under medical supervision and gradually recovering. After the operation, improvement in her foot condition has been observed, and she is expected to walk more normally and participate more independently in daily activities in the future. This treatment has brought new hope for a healthier, more active, and normal childhood for her.

Doctors have recommended a staged treatment approach for Most Tabassum Akter’s bilateral relapsed congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) to achieve optimal correction and ensure safe functional recovery. The initial stage of management, including serial corrective casting under general anesthesia at 14-day intervals, has already been completed. However, despite adequate compliance with casting treatment, there has been no significant or satisfactory improvement in foot correction. As a result, the clinical condition is now considered refractory to conservative management, and the patient requires surgical intervention.In view of the persistent deformity, the medical team has planned progression to operative management. The next stage includes Achilles tendon lengthening and Tibialis Anterior Tendon Transfer to release soft tissue contractures and improve dynamic foot balance and alignment. If residual deformity persists following this intervention, a further corrective procedure may be required, including Tibialis Posterior fractional lengthening and Posterior Medial Release (PMR), aimed at achieving complete structural correction and functional foot positioning.With timely surgical correction followed by appropriate postoperative rehabilitation and physiotherapy, the prognosis is cautiously optimistic. The child is expected to achieve improved foot alignment, better gait mechanics, enhanced stability, and significantly improved functional mobility. This will allow her to participate more independently in daily activities, play, and normal childhood development with reduced pain and disability.However, if definitive surgical treatment is further delayed or not performed, the deformity is likely to progress, leading to increasing rigidity of the feet, worsening gait abnormality, compensatory stress on other joints, chronic pain, and significant long-term functional limitation. Ultimately, this may result in permanent disability, reduced independence, and negative impact on overall physical, psychological, and social development.