Re: Daughter to be casted in September

[Guest guest]

Hi Donna

With the rating of severe, I would definitely consider a band. Can

you post some pictures so we can see her head? A bird's eye view

would help show the plagio/asymmetry and a side shot would show the

brachy. Usually when their hair is wet in the bath is the best way

to take pictures.

Try looking at her in the mirror. Do you see the asymmetry more?

Remember, she will go swimming in front of other people and may want

pony tails or a short hair cut. Don't rely on hair to mask the

problem. Plus, there are many long term effects of untreated

plagio. Of course, the choice is up to you.

Glad you have found this site helpful. I really have, too!!

- Boise, ID

Sophie - 15 months - STARhelmet 3/15/06

>

> Hi. I'm fairly new here and just wanted to say that the

information

> that I've found on this board is exceptional. Thank you all. I

> honestly don't know what I would do without access to this group

and

> its resources. With that said.....

>

> My name is Donna and my daughter, , age 7 months, has been

> diagnosed by a craniofacial specialist with moderate to severe

> positional plagiocephaly. She was prescribed a DOC band, which led

> us to CT, where she was diagnosed to have brachycephaly with

slight

> facial assymmetry. No measurements were taken and quite honestly,

> the only assymmetry that I notice is that one cheeks is ever so

> slightly broader than the other but hey, so is mine. My husband

and

> I are still on the fence about the banding her. We have a casting

> appointment on 9/5 but honestly to our untrained eyes, her head

> looks like it's been improving and rounding out on it's own. The

> lower bottom bone on her skull is sticking out now so it gives her

> head a rounder look. The only time I can see the brachy shape is

> when she's in bath and her hair is wet. The top back of her head

> still has a flat look to it. My question is what would you do? I

> honestly don't see any other assymmetry but then again, I don't

have

> an eye trained to see it.

>

> Just looking for input - thanks!

> Donna

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks . I know that this is our only opening to help " fix "

her head and if I honestly thought that her case was severe, I

wouldn't hesitate to get her the DOC band. The craniofacial specialist

said that he didn't have a problem stating that had moderate to

severe plagio but I think he told us that so we could declare medical

necessity with insurance. Her head has also rounded out a bit since

that visit, since we've been making a huge effort keeping her off her

back. The consultant at CT didn't rate her case at all. When I

called back to find out if had a severe or moderate case, she

said that she didn't make any notation in her file. All she wrote

down was that has a brachy head..... Another thing is that I'm

afraid that she's not going to do well wearing it. She dislikes her

head being touched already. I can't imagine what she'd feel like with

a band on her head all day and all night.

I will post the pictures of her head later today, as they are on my

home PC. Thanks again.

[Guest guest]

simon used to hate having his head touched too especially when you would try to dry his hair after a bath he would throw a fit. he has had his doc band for almost 7 weeks and he hasnt had any issues with it, he doesnt mind getting his head dried off anymore and the weird thing is since day one he has slept better at nite with the band on. i was worried about all sorts of stuff but luckily none of my fears have happened and everything has been pretty easy even the casting was quick and pretty simple.

Aron Holwighttp://birds.lemonyfresh.com/gallery/http://b1.lilypie.com/2QXlm7.png

On 8/22/06, Donna <tobykc@...> wrote:

Thanks . I know that this is our only opening to help " fix " her head and if I honestly thought that her case was severe, I wouldn't hesitate to get her the DOC band. The craniofacial specialist said that he didn't have a problem stating that had moderate to severe plagio but I think he told us that so we could declare medical necessity with insurance. Her head has also rounded out a bit since that visit, since we've been making a huge effort keeping her off her back. The consultant at CT didn't rate her case at all. When I called back to find out if had a severe or moderate case, she said that she didn't make any notation in her file. All she wrote down was that has a brachy head..... Another thing is that I'm afraid that she's not going to do well wearing it. She dislikes her head being touched already. I can't imagine what she'd feel like with

a band on her head all day and all night. I will post the pictures of her head later today, as they are on my home PC. Thanks again. --

[Guest guest]

I wouldn't worry about your daughter disliking her head being touched. My

son never liked wearing hats so I was concerned about how he would adjust to

the band. However, he had no problem adjusting to the band. In fact, he

hates having it off now! He is pretty miserable during the one hour that he

has the band off and spends most of the time scratching his head (his head

may be more irritated than most due to all his hair). I'm wondering how

easy he'll adjust to not having it on.

Molly

California

Nicolas, 10.5 months, tort & plagio, STARband 4/25/06

, 3.5

, 6.5

Re: Daughter to be casted in September

Thanks . I know that this is our only opening to help " fix "

her head and if I honestly thought that her case was severe, I

wouldn't hesitate to get her the DOC band. The craniofacial specialist

said that he didn't have a problem stating that had moderate to

severe plagio but I think he told us that so we could declare medical

necessity with insurance. Her head has also rounded out a bit since

that visit, since we've been making a huge effort keeping her off her

back. The consultant at CT didn't rate her case at all. When I

called back to find out if had a severe or moderate case, she

said that she didn't make any notation in her file. All she wrote

down was that has a brachy head..... Another thing is that I'm

afraid that she's not going to do well wearing it. She dislikes her

head being touched already. I can't imagine what she'd feel like with

a band on her head all day and all night.

I will post the pictures of her head later today, as they are on my

home PC. Thanks again.

For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

I think alot of brachy babies get a bit better naturally after they

start sitting up but with brachy you have to watch head width. You

can't change the head width, you can only redirect the growth

towards the back of the head with a band. If her head never looked

any better would you be ok with it? If not, I would suggest a

band. I stayed on the fence with banding and wasted 4 months when

my son might of ended up with a better outcome. Go with your gut!

We'll support you either way! In the mean time, keep her off the

back of her head with tummy time and maybe a Bumbo Seat if you don't

already have one.

Natasha

>

> Hi. I'm fairly new here and just wanted to say that the

information

> that I've found on this board is exceptional. Thank you all. I

> honestly don't know what I would do without access to this group

and

> its resources. With that said.....

>

> My name is Donna and my daughter, , age 7 months, has been

> diagnosed by a craniofacial specialist with moderate to severe

> positional plagiocephaly. She was prescribed a DOC band, which led

> us to CT, where she was diagnosed to have brachycephaly with

slight

> facial assymmetry. No measurements were taken and quite honestly,

> the only assymmetry that I notice is that one cheeks is ever so

> slightly broader than the other but hey, so is mine. My husband

and

> I are still on the fence about the banding her. We have a casting

> appointment on 9/5 but honestly to our untrained eyes, her head

> looks like it's been improving and rounding out on it's own. The

> lower bottom bone on her skull is sticking out now so it gives her

> head a rounder look. The only time I can see the brachy shape is

> when she's in bath and her hair is wet. The top back of her head

> still has a flat look to it. My question is what would you do? I

> honestly don't see any other assymmetry but then again, I don't

have

> an eye trained to see it.

>

> Just looking for input - thanks!

> Donna

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful input. I've added some photos

to show you her head. They may not be the best but with an active

baby, that's all I was capable of taking. I'm going to try to get

better ones if I can get someone to hold her still. I don't trust

my 4yo son to do it - I can just picture him squeezing her head too

tight! LOL

Even looking at these pictures, I can't decide. In the birds eye

view shots, I can see how her head is wider in the back but I don't

notice any extra width on her face. She's also half Asian, as I am

Chinese and in all honesty, I think my face is also on the wider

side. My son's head always looked too large for his body but his

body caught up and he's proportionate now. The funny thing is that

since this situation has started, I've been feeling my son's head

and he clearly has a flat spot on the back of his head behind his

ear. He was a side sleeper so it's definitely plagio - yet no one

diagnosed it for him 4 years ago. In fact, our pediatrician (same

as my daughter's) said his noggin was perfect! It clearly isn't but

it's also not noticeable unless you rub his head.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think. The pics are under .

Thanks again!

Donna

[Guest guest]

Hi Donna,

my daughter also has brachy. she was banded almost 3 mo ago, I just

posted some photos Our Plagio Babies S/ Sydney M (or just look at the

new photos from the home page). The " after " photos are now 3 or 4

weeks ago, but I haven't taken any more lately.

She was " severe " with a cranial index of 100% (equally wide and long),

and has had a lot of improvement. Your daughters head looks rounder in

the back than Sydney's, but at the same time if I try to compare the

width at the widest part, to the length (front to back) they look

about the same - meaning your daughter could be around 100% (or course

I can't really " measure " her from a photo). She's probably less since

the doctor said moderate to severe, because 100% is definitely severe.

I do think your daughter's head has gotten wider because of brachy

(this happens with brachy, which I didn't know at the beginning). It

probably will correct some on its own, but the band would keep the

wide part from getting wider and direct the growth to the back to help

even it out. If you don't band it is likely that the growth will be

distributed, and not just in the back.

In the end she'll probably look fine either way, but with a wide head

she may have more of a problem with hats, helmets, glasses etc. If I

were you I think I would band. I'm not sure why the person at CT

didn't measure her, since you already had her there.

good luck with your decision

-christine

mom to sydney/ 7.5 mo/ starband 5-31-06

ps. sydney adjusted to the band very quickly.

>

> Thanks . I know that this is our only opening to help " fix "

> her head and if I honestly thought that her case was severe, I

> wouldn't hesitate to get her the DOC band. The craniofacial specialist

> said that he didn't have a problem stating that had moderate to

> severe plagio but I think he told us that so we could declare medical

> necessity with insurance. Her head has also rounded out a bit since

> that visit, since we've been making a huge effort keeping her off her

> back. The consultant at CT didn't rate her case at all. When I

> called back to find out if had a severe or moderate case, she

> said that she didn't make any notation in her file. All she wrote

> down was that has a brachy head..... Another thing is that I'm

> afraid that she's not going to do well wearing it. She dislikes her

> head being touched already. I can't imagine what she'd feel like with

> a band on her head all day and all night.

>

> I will post the pictures of her head later today, as they are on my

> home PC. Thanks again.

>

[Guest guest]

I've been comparing the pictures of 's head with those of

Sydney's and they look very similar in shape. It's amazing how " bad "

the before pictures look once you see the " After " photos. I didn't

think Sydney's head looked that bad until I saw the 8 week progress

shots. She has had significant improvement and her head looks

awesome. I guess I have lots to think about.....

Thanks everyone for your input so far. I really appreciate it.

's head shots are in the Photos section. Thanks!!

Donna

[Guest guest]

My 6 month old was just casted. He had a " moderate " case also.

He's going to get the band. He's a brachy baby too. He's got bulges on

the side of his head, over his ears. Other than that, he's got a mild

flat spot on his forhead. The PT said that She noticed a mild case of

plagio, on his right side.

We get his band on monday! i'm SO exctied to DECORATE the dang thing!

hahhaha