Has anyone had the STA-Peg subtalar arthrorisis procedure done for your child's flat feet?

Hello, I have an almost 9 year old son whose ankles roll inward and his feet point outwards when he stands. He can walk and run and play fine, and you wouldn't know unless you paid attention to how his feet/ankles look when he's standing barefoot. He has complained on some occasions of his foot hurting, which is what made me schedule an appointment with a podiatrist. The podiatrist highly recommend a surgery for his feet that basically inserts a small plastic piece between two of the bones to hold his feet in proper posture.A week or so after this appointment, he had his annual physical with his regular doctor. I brought it up to him, and he seems to think that the issue isn't too bad and he doesn't really think the surgery is necessary, though he said it would be ok to do.I'm so conflicted! The podiatrist said it's a simple outpatient procedure, and recovery could be anywhere between 3 weeks to 3 months. During that time he will be able to walk though it will be very awkward for a while. I hate the thought of putting him through unnecessary surgery but at the same time I don't want this not do the surgery and cause him issues later on down the line when it will be too late to do the peg procedure. Oh yeah, the podiatrist also mentioned that sometime between the ages of 10 and 12, the window of opportunity for the surgery will close as everything down there will harden (sorry, my explanation here isn't the best!)We meet with the podiatrist again on the 20th to discuss everything so I will bring up my concerns but in the meantime, I wanted to see if anyone here has had this done with their child and what the experience was like.Thank you! via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/3exicOE