02 February 2022
Following a two-year hiatus, due to Covid, the London Orthotic Consultancy is delighted to announce the re-opening of its Manchester clinic in the hospital’s Podiatry department which is located in the Brian Blatchford Building.
The clinic is run by John Turner, a senior orthotist. John has over 25 years of experience in orthotic practice, he has specialised knowledge and experience of working with children with Cerebral Palsy. He is also a placement trainer for students of Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Salford.
LOC’s clinic provides bespoke orthotic treatment for a wide range of adult and paediatric conditions including Plagiocephaly/Flat head syndrome, Pectus Excavatum and Carinatum. It is also the base for LOC’s northern OSKAR clinic; OSKAR stands for the Optimal Segmental Kinematic Alignment approach to Rehabilitation and is an evidence-based method of assessing and treating children with lower limb neurological conditions such as Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida. Our OSKAR clinic utilises the teaching hospital’s Gait Laboratory to assess patients’ gait and walking patterns. The combination of the two means we can produce more accurate assessments and prescriptions resulting in the production of gold standard bespoke orthotics. We also have access to a well-equipped and substantial workshop on site so that we can fine-tune our orthotics for optimum comfort during the original fitting appointment or at review appointments.
John is really looking forward to the reopening: ‘It will be great to access the superb facilities available at the university, all our patients will benefit. And for our patients with lower limb conditions, we will be able to offer the complete bespoke orthotic service again.”
The clinic will be open Monday to Wednesday every week (excluding bank holidays) from 9am-5pm. Parking can be found in the Frederick Road car park, next to the Allerton Building. Appointments can be made by contacting us or by phoning our admin team on 020 8974 9989.
Above: John Turner at our Manchester Clinic
LOC’s clinic is based in the University of Salford’s Podiatry Department and provides treatments for orthotics, scoliosis, pectus deformities, positional plagiocephaly and club foot.
It is also the base for LOC’s northern OSKAR clinic which is run by Sam Walmsley, clinical director of LOC, in conjunction with Elaine Owen MBE MSc SRP MCSP.
Clothing worn is dependent on which clinic you are attending. You will be sent a letter detailing what clothing to wear along with all other details prior to any appointment at the clinic.
This depends on several factors; the position of the chest wall deformity, its severity, the flexibility of the chest, the kind of results wanting to be achieved and the age of the person undergoing treatment for pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum.
Early adolescence (roughly between the ages of 12-16 years old) – is an optimum age to start treatment, given that the chest is still maturing, and flexible, permanent correction is more easily achievable. Once bracing treatment is complete and a patient has stopped growing, the deformity will not return. For younger pectus patients, conservative bracing is used to keep a deformity from worsening and can help them to avoid surgery in later life.
For older pectus patients (between the ages of 20 to 30) results can be harder to achieve, as the costal cartilage hardens into the bone as a person matures. Over the years we have successfully treated many adults for both pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum and active adults with flexible chests can expect good results.
Again, this hugely depends on what a patient wants to achieve from treatment; whether that’s avoidance of surgery, improvement in the appearance of the chest shape, reduction in rib flaring etc. All these goals are taken into consideration during your first consultation. While there are no serious health risks of having pectus carinatum or excavatum – beyond the cosmetic – for many patients and parents, treatment outcomes involve improving confidence and self-esteem. During our 2018 Pectus Patient Survey, 92% of pectus carinatum patients surveyed said that treatment had a ‘major improvement’ or ‘an improvement’ on their social life.
You can read the results of our 2018 Pectus Patient Survey and quality of life questionnaire here.
If you are worried about your chest shape, or your child’s chest shape, then get in touch for a free Skype consultation with one of our pectus specialists who can assess their chest and discuss treatment options. We are always happy to communicate with local GPs, thoracic surgeons and consultants if a patient approaches us for bracing treatment after considering other options.
