Our son Wade B. was born with a clubfoot. We found out at our 20-week appointment and were…read moreimmediately referred to Dr. Robert Kay at the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center. We were upset, but one of the first things I did was talk to my cousin, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who did his fellowship year at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He asked me who our doctor was, and when I told him Dr. Kay, he said that's exactly who he would have recommended.
We first met Dr. Kay before Wade was born, and he prepared us for the journey to come, laying out the treatment plan and patiently answering all of our questions. I liked him immediately, and my admiration for him has only grown over the past four years. He's an incredible doctor, kind, patient, and gentle, with a calming manner. He was born to do what he does, to take care of children and reassure their parents.
Wade came out with the prophesied funny foot, and treatment began when he was six days old, in September 2022. It started with a series of casts, a new one each week as he grew, to correct the alignment of the foot. Then, at five weeks, Dr. Kay performed a small surgery, called a tenotomy, basically snipping the Achilles tendon to allow it to grow longer and more flexible as it healed. He explained that no one understood why this happened, but that it always worked for babies.
The surgery was successful, and it was followed by one last cast, after which the clubfoot was corrected, at eight weeks. Then came almost three years of bracing, to ensure the foot didn't revert. Wade wore his boots and bar--like a little snowboard--23 hours a day for six months. After that, he only had to wear the brace at night, and it became a natural part of his bedtime routine. He wore that thing every night until his third birthday.
The bulk of Dr. Kay's work was done after the surgery, but we saw him several more times for follow-ups at the spine center. We're not quite done--we have to schedule a six-month check-up next month--but the boots are off now, and Wade's feet are perfect. We'd been prepared for different shoe sizes, but even Dr. Kay has a hard time telling the feet apart.
I know the outcome was not entirely in Dr. Kay's control, but he did wonderful work with Wade's clubfoot and was lovely to deal with all throughout this long process. Everyone else at the spine center was great, too, always helpful and friendly. Dr. Kay also works at CHLA, and I'm glad that he was our doctor at Cedars, and that so many of L.A.'s children have access to his care.
This is my 5,000th Yelp review, and today happens to be my 40th birthday. I wanted to write about something meaningful for this one, and I can't think of a better choice than the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center and Dr. Kay, who gave my son his walking feet.
