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My child had a clubfoot and we met another child with the same thing. Why would my child's cast be heavy plaster while the other's was made of more lightweight fiberglass? The plaster cast was hard to keep dry and it was very heavy.

Casting for clubfoot can be done with either type of cast, Plaster of Paris or a semi-rigid fiberglass. While it is known that the fiberglass cases are more convenient for parents in terms of their weight and ease of care, a recent study has shown that the plaster cast is more effective than the fiberglass.

Reference: 

Douglas E. Pittner, MD, Kevin E. Klingele, MD, and Allan C. Beebe, MD. Treatment of Clubfoot With the Ponsetti Method. A Comparison of Casting Materials. In Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. March 2008. Vol. 28, No. 2. pp. 250-253.

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