Limb Deformity: Visual Cues

The other day, I met another woman who stopped me in the store and inquired about Rory's shoe.   Many of you know my feelings about people asking questions about Rory's condition: I WELCOME them!   I would much rather have someone ask me about it than just stare at her (which is normally what happens). I began my normal explanation to the lady; her condition, what it was, and of course: handed her one of our business cards.   She seemed more interested and concerned than most people we encounter.   She then informed me about her concerns with her newborn son, and how she believed that one of his limbs was smaller than the other.   Her main question was, how I found out that Rory had Congenital Femoral Deficiency (CFD).

Visual Cues of Limb Deformity

We found out during her 5 month ultrasound.   The doctors had already noticed her right leg being significantly shorter than her left.   The doctors did not know that she had CFD, it is a 1 in 500,000 discrepancy and extremely rare, so the doctors didn't suggest her condition could be CFD until a few weeks before Rory was born.   Although her discrepancy is more mild than other children that have CFD, it was still big enough for our doctors to discover at her 5 month ultrasound. The lady informed me that she did not think her son's discrepancy was nearly as significant as Rory's, but that she still had concerns.   I then shared some characteristics of Rory's leg so she could go home and look at her son. One characteristic is on her right leg, the smaller leg, there is an indentation, almost like a large dimple.   I have had contact with other mothers whose children have CFD/PFFD (the best part of going to Rory's doctor is meeting other mother's who have children like Rory!) and their children all have dimples in their leg as well.   Rory's dimple is a little larger than a cellulite dimple and is always visible (unlike cellulite that can only show up when someone is sitting). When I asked her doctor about this leg dimple, he informed me that when there is a dimple visible on the skin, it is a sign that there is an imperfection under the skin.   It is just another indicator that her right femur is irregular (medically, they use the word deformed, but I strongly dislike that word!).   Although getting an x-ray is probably the best way to see if your child has a limb discrepancy, the dimple on top of the skin is a small indicator that can help inform a mother that there is something going on under the skin. I hope this can help a few mothers out there, please know that you can always email me if anyone has any questions on identifying limb discrepancies, although I am not an expert, I know enough and am a great listener!

For more support for you and your special needs child, please take a look at these other great articles:

• Playgrounds: Modify Play for Special Needs
• Help for Moms of a Special Needs Child
• What Special Needs Moms Don’t Want To Hear