Rocker bottom foot
Unlike the flexible flat foot that is commonly encountered in young children, congenital vertical talus is characterized by presence of a very rigid foot deformity. The foot deformity in congenital vertical talus consists of various components, namely a prominent calcaneus caused by the ankle equines or plantar flexion, a convex and rounded sole of the foot caused by prominence of the head of the talus, and a dorsiflexion and abduction of the forefoot and midfoot on the hindfoot. It gets its name from the foot's resemblance to the bottom of a rocking chair. There are two subcategories of congenital vertical talus namely idiopathic or isolated type and non-idiopathic type which may be seen in association with arthrogryposis multiplex congenital, genetic syndromes and other neuromuscular disorders. It can be associated with Edwards' syndrome (trisomy 18), Patau syndrome (trisomy 13), Trisomy 9 and mutation in the gene HOXD10. Treatment The treatment of congenital vertical talus can be broadly classified into conservative and surgical. Serial casting The mainstay of management of congenital vertical talus is serial manipulative casting also known as the reversed Ponseti technique. This technique involves gradual step-wise correction of the deformity usually on a weekly basis. In the event there