Re: plastic surg appt./still unsure about band

[Guest guest]

,

If Cranial Tech told you Luke would benefit from a DOCband then he

would. They don't tell all parents that, they do turn parents away

whose babies are too mild to band. They mustn't think he's too mild.

As you know the window of opportunity to correct plagio isn't a big

one, basically it's now or never.

The helmet you are describing sounds like it might be a passive type

helmet. Passive helmets are great for very young infants, as they

rely totally on growth. Head growth slows down significantly by 6

months of age. You'd probably be better off using an active band.

Did you check out our Helmet/Band database? If not, you really should

we may have a member that has used the place your specialist is

referring you to.

You said it still bothers you to look at his head, I think that is

your Mommy instinct telling you to band/helmet him.

Let us know what you decide.

--- In Plagiocephaly , " tracybpenny " <tracybpen@j...>

wrote:

> We finally got Luke (8 months old today) in to see a plastic surgeon

> to evaluate his plagio. I was not at all impressed by this doctor.

> I was feeding Luke a bottle when the doc came in so Luke was laying

> on my arm and the doc said not to move him while he looked at his

> head. The doc kind of felt his head a little and barely looked at it

> and then gave his opinion. I don't see how he could really evaluate

> his head while Luke was in this position. Luke's flat spot is lower

> than most so the part that is really flat was resting on my arm

while

> I fed him. I mentioned this to the doc and he said he was able to

> evaluate it just fine. So, based on this exam the doc rated Luke's

> plagio a 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. He said he wouldn't do anything for

> Luke's plagio, but he went ahead and gave me a prescription anyway

> and basically said we could do it if we wanted to, but he didn't

> think it was " worth the trouble " . He referred us to an orthotics

> company in St. Louis where he sends his patients. I guess this

> company has their own type of cranial molding helmet that is

actually

> 2 pieces instead of the one piece like the DOC band and STARband.

> Therefore, the band is thinner (less foam) because the band is

> adjusted as the baby's head grows by separating the two pieces a

> little allowing for extra room. Hope that makes sense! Anyway, I

> still don't know what to do about the band. I realize Luke's plagio

> is very mild, but everytime I look at his head it still bothers me.

> Maybe I'm just getting to worked up over a little problem. I guess I

> feel like if we could fix it then we should, but maybe since there's

> not much to fix there's no point in going to to all the trouble of

> doing the band. About a month ago we took Luke to have the free

> initial evaluation for a DOC band. The DOC band orthotist told us

> Luke didn't absolutely need a band, but he would certainly benefit.

> So, I guess it's really up to us to decide. Anyone else in a similar

> situation? And, has anyone heard of/used the type of band I

> described?

>

>

> mom of Luke

> Columbia, MO

[Guest guest]

,

We are in the same situation...our son Aidan (8 months when he got

his helmet) has mild plagio on the right side and it really bothers

me...my family votes for no helmet or band. And the doctors have

told us the same thing...that it's a personal choice and he'll be

fine without it. We have the Danmar helmet (also in 2 pieces) and

he has only had it for about 3 weeks. We took it off after it

looked like his head was getting worse to me...but after really

looking back at pictures and asking family members for opinions they

think it looks the same. So I've been a little paranoid about

leaving it on because I would hate to make a mild problem worse. We

have seen our orthotist several times and our doctor..they keep

reassuring us that the helmet fits well and that it won't get

worse. We also have heard great things about our orthotist which

makes it hard not to trust his judgment.

Do you have any pictures of your Luke posted?? It is a hard

decision and there is a short window of time. It would be nice to

know what their head will look like in a year with or withoutout

intervention. We considered an active band because he's older but

our doctor prefers the helmet and we would also have to drive to

Chicago from Michigan...we might consider it if after a few more

weeks we don't see any results with the helmet. Good luck with your

decision... let us know what you decide,

Amy (Aidan V's Mom)

--- In Plagiocephaly , " tracybpenny " <tracybpen@j...>

wrote:

> We finally got Luke (8 months old today) in to see a plastic

surgeon

> to evaluate his plagio. I was not at all impressed by this doctor.

> I was feeding Luke a bottle when the doc came in so Luke was laying

> on my arm and the doc said not to move him while he looked at his

> head. The doc kind of felt his head a little and barely looked at

it

> and then gave his opinion. I don't see how he could really evaluate

> his head while Luke was in this position. Luke's flat spot is lower

> than most so the part that is really flat was resting on my arm

while

> I fed him. I mentioned this to the doc and he said he was able to

> evaluate it just fine. So, based on this exam the doc rated Luke's

> plagio a 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. He said he wouldn't do anything

for

> Luke's plagio, but he went ahead and gave me a prescription anyway

> and basically said we could do it if we wanted to, but he didn't

> think it was " worth the trouble " . He referred us to an orthotics

> company in St. Louis where he sends his patients. I guess this

> company has their own type of cranial molding helmet that is

actually

> 2 pieces instead of the one piece like the DOC band and STARband.

> Therefore, the band is thinner (less foam) because the band is

> adjusted as the baby's head grows by separating the two pieces a

> little allowing for extra room. Hope that makes sense! Anyway, I

> still don't know what to do about the band. I realize Luke's plagio

> is very mild, but everytime I look at his head it still bothers me.

> Maybe I'm just getting to worked up over a little problem. I guess

I

> feel like if we could fix it then we should, but maybe since

there's

> not much to fix there's no point in going to to all the trouble of

> doing the band. About a month ago we took Luke to have the free

> initial evaluation for a DOC band. The DOC band orthotist told us

> Luke didn't absolutely need a band, but he would certainly benefit.

> So, I guess it's really up to us to decide. Anyone else in a

similar

> situation? And, has anyone heard of/used the type of band I

> described?

>

>

> mom of Luke

> Columbia, MO

[Guest guest]

,

I just wanted to second everything said. It really isn't an

easy decision in a case like yours and that is precisely the reason

I've read so many parents wish in some ways that their child's

plagio was worse, not that they want it to be actually worse, but

because it would be a more clear cut decision. You really need to

think about how his head shape is now and know that it might not get

any better ever without a band. If you are happy with that then

don't band him, but it sounds to me like you might regret it if you

don't get a helmet and his headshape stays the same. Good luck with

your decision.

, mom to Hannah, DOCgrad

Cape Cod, Ma

--- In Plagiocephaly , " tracybpenny " <tracybpen@j...>

wrote:

> We finally got Luke (8 months old today) in to see a plastic

surgeon

> to evaluate his plagio. I was not at all impressed by this doctor.

> I was feeding Luke a bottle when the doc came in so Luke was laying

> on my arm and the doc said not to move him while he looked at his

> head. The doc kind of felt his head a little and barely looked at

it

> and then gave his opinion. I don't see how he could really evaluate

> his head while Luke was in this position. Luke's flat spot is lower

> than most so the part that is really flat was resting on my arm

while

> I fed him. I mentioned this to the doc and he said he was able to

> evaluate it just fine. So, based on this exam the doc rated Luke's

> plagio a 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. He said he wouldn't do anything

for

> Luke's plagio, but he went ahead and gave me a prescription anyway

> and basically said we could do it if we wanted to, but he didn't

> think it was " worth the trouble " . He referred us to an orthotics

> company in St. Louis where he sends his patients. I guess this

> company has their own type of cranial molding helmet that is

actually

> 2 pieces instead of the one piece like the DOC band and STARband.

> Therefore, the band is thinner (less foam) because the band is

> adjusted as the baby's head grows by separating the two pieces a

> little allowing for extra room. Hope that makes sense! Anyway, I

> still don't know what to do about the band. I realize Luke's plagio

> is very mild, but everytime I look at his head it still bothers me.

> Maybe I'm just getting to worked up over a little problem. I guess

I

> feel like if we could fix it then we should, but maybe since

there's

> not much to fix there's no point in going to to all the trouble of

> doing the band. About a month ago we took Luke to have the free

> initial evaluation for a DOC band. The DOC band orthotist told us

> Luke didn't absolutely need a band, but he would certainly benefit.

> So, I guess it's really up to us to decide. Anyone else in a

similar

> situation? And, has anyone heard of/used the type of band I

> described?

>

>

> mom of Luke

> Columbia, MO

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Deciding whether or not to band is usually the toughest part of the

whole thing. My neuro experience was practically the same. Go with

your mommy instincts, they are usually right.

I'm not familiar with the band you described, sorry.

Good luck with your decision, Natasha

--- In Plagiocephaly , " tracybpenny " <tracybpen@j...>

wrote:

> We finally got Luke (8 months old today) in to see a plastic surgeon

> to evaluate his plagio. I was not at all impressed by this doctor.

> I was feeding Luke a bottle when the doc came in so Luke was laying

> on my arm and the doc said not to move him while he looked at his

> head. The doc kind of felt his head a little and barely looked at it

> and then gave his opinion. I don't see how he could really evaluate

> his head while Luke was in this position. Luke's flat spot is lower

> than most so the part that is really flat was resting on my arm

while

> I fed him. I mentioned this to the doc and he said he was able to

> evaluate it just fine. So, based on this exam the doc rated Luke's

> plagio a 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. He said he wouldn't do anything for

> Luke's plagio, but he went ahead and gave me a prescription anyway

> and basically said we could do it if we wanted to, but he didn't

> think it was " worth the trouble " . He referred us to an orthotics

> company in St. Louis where he sends his patients. I guess this

> company has their own type of cranial molding helmet that is

actually

> 2 pieces instead of the one piece like the DOC band and STARband.

> Therefore, the band is thinner (less foam) because the band is

> adjusted as the baby's head grows by separating the two pieces a

> little allowing for extra room. Hope that makes sense! Anyway, I

> still don't know what to do about the band. I realize Luke's plagio

> is very mild, but everytime I look at his head it still bothers me.

> Maybe I'm just getting to worked up over a little problem. I guess I

> feel like if we could fix it then we should, but maybe since there's

> not much to fix there's no point in going to to all the trouble of

> doing the band. About a month ago we took Luke to have the free

> initial evaluation for a DOC band. The DOC band orthotist told us

> Luke didn't absolutely need a band, but he would certainly benefit.

> So, I guess it's really up to us to decide. Anyone else in a similar

> situation? And, has anyone heard of/used the type of band I

> described?

>

>

> mom of Luke

> Columbia, MO

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Do you live anywhere near a Cranial Technologies office?

www.cranialtech.com

They do free evaluations and this may help you decide.

After we saw our neuro, he did not really recommend banding, but he also said that he would give us an RX if we wanted. I didn't take it at that time, but Matt's head was still bothering me. Sometimes it wouldn't seem so bad, and then other time, it would seem really bad to me. I was agonizing over it every day all day it seemed. And I kept wondering, what if we do nothing now, and he comes to us later asking why we didn't try to fix his head when we could have/

We made the appt at CT for the free eval. They were very helpful. Even after I told them I probably wouldn't be coming there for treatment because they were too far away (in the end, we went there anyway and were very glad!). They were able to give us the exact measurements of asymmetry (8mm cranial vault asymmetry and +2 std. dev. brachy index). After I checked with our insurance company and saw that met the conditions for coverage, so I figured if it was bad enough for the insurance to cover it, then it was bad enough to get the band.

Knowing the precise measurements helped us feel better about our decision.

Good Luck!

and (DOCgrad 13-Feb-04/10-14mos./PA)

> We finally got Luke (8 months old today) in to see a plastic surgeon> to evaluate his plagio. I was not at all impressed by this doctor.> I was feeding Luke a bottle when the doc came in so Luke was laying> on my arm and the doc said not to move him while he looked at his> head. The doc kind of felt his head a little and barely looked at it> and then gave his opinion. I don't see how he could really evaluate> his head while Luke was in this position. Luke's flat spot is lower> than most so the part that is really flat was resting on my arm while> I fed him. I mentioned this to the doc and he said he was able to> evaluate it just fine. So, based on this exam the

doc rated Luke's> plagio a 2-3 on a scale of 1-10. He said he wouldn't do anything for> Luke's plagio, but he went ahead and gave me a prescription anyway> and basically said we could do it if we wanted to, but he didn't> think it was "worth the trouble". He referred us to an orthotics> company in St. Louis where he sends his patients. I guess this> company has their own type of cranial molding helmet that is actually> 2 pieces instead of the one piece like the DOC band and STARband.> Therefore, the band is thinner (less foam) because the band is> adjusted as the baby's head grows by separating the two pieces a> little allowing for extra room. Hope that makes sense! Anyway, I> still don't know what to do about the band. I realize Luke's plagio> is very mild, but everytime I look at his head it still bothers me.> Maybe I'm just getting to worked up over a little problem. I guess

I> feel like if we could fix it then we should, but maybe since there's> not much to fix there's no point in going to to all the trouble of> doing the band. About a month ago we took Luke to have the free > initial evaluation for a DOC band. The DOC band orthotist told us> Luke didn't absolutely need a band, but he would certainly benefit.> So, I guess it's really up to us to decide. Anyone else in a similar> situation? And, has anyone heard of/used the type of band I> described?> > > mom of Luke> Columbia, MOFor more plagio info