Vascular abnormalities correlate with decreased soft tissue volumes in idiopathic clubfoot.

BACKGROUND: Lower extremity vascular anomalies have been described for patients with clubfoot but few imaging studies have investigated effects on soft tissues such as fat and muscle. To make these assessments we need noninvasive, noncontrast agents to more safely image children. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We describe a novel noninvasive imaging protocol to identify vascular and soft tissue abnormalities in the lower limbs of patients with clubfoot and determine whether these abnormalities are present in patients who had recurrent clubfoot. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three-dimensional noncontrast-enhanced MR angiography was used to identify vascular, bone, and soft tissue abnormalities in patients with clubfoot. We determined whether these abnormalities were more common in patients who had experienced recurrent clubfoot.
RESULTS: Four patients with isolated unilateral clubfoot had arterial anomalies in the clubfoot limb. All patients had less muscle volume in the affected limb, and nine of 11 patients (82%) had less subcutaneous fat, with a mean difference of 0.56 cm(3) ± 0.36 cm(3) (range, 0.08-1.12 cm(3)). Vascular anomalies and decreased fat and muscle volumes were present in all three patients with recurrent clubfoot.
CONCLUSIONS: We found a high frequency of vascular and soft tissue anomalies in the affected limbs of patients with unilateral clubfoot that may correlate with response to treatment.