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102
Primary Examinations. During the year 80 children were
referred from the Infant Welfare Clinics to the Council's Orthopaedic
Surgeon.
Last year it was noted in the Annual Report that there had
been an increase each year in the number of children referred for
advice and treatment from the Infant Welfare Centres since 1929,
when the service was first available. The numbers increased from
31 in 1929 to 91 in 1932. This year there is a fall in cases referred
from 91 to 80. One hopes that—as the residt of the individual
teaching in the homes by the Health Visitors and at the Clinics
by the Medical Officers and Health Visitors—the mothers are
beginning to realise the importance of straight limbs. Only with
the mothers' co-operation is it possible to ensure that deformities
do not become serious. A mother who has been told to watch a
bowed leg, and later reassured regarding it, may be quite unconscious
of a definite knock knee in the same child 6-12 months later.
The arguments that " the father has bow legs "or" the mother
has knock knee " are still advanced as explanations of the children's
deformities, or even as reasons for disregarding them.
The orthopaedic defects found were :—
Webbed digits 2
Scoliosis 1
Talipes 3
Digitus flexus 2
Bowed tibiae 41
Genu valgum 30
Genu varum 1
Bowed femora 1
Pes piano valgus 52
Be-examinations. In addition to the 80 new cases mentioned
above, 165 children under five years of age attended for re-examination
by the Orthopaedic Surgeon.
Treatment. One hundred and twenty-nine children made
448 attendances at Knotts Green Special School for special treatment
by the Council's Masseuse (Miss Findlay).
Provision of Surgical Appliances.—One hundred and five
children were supplied with surgical appliances on the