Guest guest Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or both comparable? Thanks, e Mother of le 4 months old Torticollis and plagiocephaly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 i had a starband and switched to a doc band-i personally feel the docband is a far superior product-its lighter, more open at the top so it " breathes " easier on the childs head, and it comes off **much** easier, so it doesnt pull at the hair, which i hated about the starband. it also " looks " nicer, the starband looked a little rough on the inside; the docband just has an over all cleaner look. esthetics arent at all important, but just an added bonus. personally i also feel the starband isnt as effective as the doc, but my son was alot older at the time of his starband treatment, so i cant really say for sure. the place i went to had modified their starband to be passive (they never told us this) and my son at 8 mos didnt get the full correction he needed, which is why hes in a doc now. he should have been in an active band at that age. the key is getting an experienced ortho (research their background, ask a million questions!) if they dont know what theyre doing you will be very unhappy with the results, trust me. i know the makers of docband require extensive education on plagio and cranila molding for clinics to use their helmet so i would push for the docband. cranial technologies worked out a very generous payment plan for us so it was totally manageable. -best of luck. > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > both comparable? > > Thanks, > e > Mother of le > 4 months old > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Yikes! This makes me a little nervous. My daughter was 10 months when she started her starband, which is passive, but I was so anxious to get going with treatment, that I went with the orthotist who was able to take us. Anyway, I have so far been happy with the service and the knowledge of the orthotist - he seems to have done alot of babies. Also, Genevieve has been in the band only two weeks and has already seen correction. Additionally, her case is mild to moderate, not that serious. Her face is basically symmetrical, and her ears are not off at all, its the back of her head that is the primary problem. However, she does not have an oval shaped head, it shows the general shape of kids who have spent alot of time on their backs, kind of wider at the back. Luckily, she is still growing pretty fast. Should I be worried about this? Should I ask about switching to a docband? How serious was your son's case? What was the difference between his diagonals? Wauters Mother of Genevieve, 10 mos. 3 wks. Starband 4/22/06 > > > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > > both comparable? > > > > Thanks, > > e > > Mother of le > > 4 months old > > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 hi!! i did the same as you-i just wanted to get the ball rolling and i went with the first place that i saw. that was my first error-not researching enough. well... i can only tell you what my experience was...we saw improvement as well but i think with an active helmet we would have seen more. he was measured at 10mm and is now a 5-6, within 2.5 mos...i feel he could have at least reached a 3-4. 0-3 is considered " normal. " his measurements on january 20 then again 3 months later were: Oblique-Diagonal 1 at 30 deg. (mm) 145.3 151.4 Oblique-Diagonal 2 at 30 deg. (mm) 154.7 160.5 About week 6 of the treatment we started noticing his head was taking on a " blocky " shape which was exactly the shape of the helmet. his nuerosurgeon said dont worry about it- everyones head is different, some kids are " blockheads " lol. then week 9 we noticed his head was growing up in the back (see in the files section under A for Aidan C.) he looked like an alien. after we noticed the head height we discontinued the treatment. we were brushed off by the orthos at the place we went to, but it was so obvious to us something was wrong so we just went with our gut. then he went for a consultation at cranial tech, who confirmed the increased height in back, remaining prominence on the left and bone growth above his right ear, ALL of which is not supposed to happen. it is possible to have improvements in the affected areas while making other areas worse. that is what happened to us. where do you go for treatment? it really does depend how experienced your ortho is in treating plagio. if they only see a few plagio kids a week they are not experienced!! you have to be exact-one bad adjustment will throw the whole thing off-anyone on this board can tell you that. please email me if you would like to chat more! > > > > > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > > > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > > > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > > > both comparable? > > > > > > Thanks, > > > e > > > Mother of le > > > 4 months old > > > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Hello. This question has been asked many times in the past also. The real key to good treatment is an experienced Orthotist! The DOCband and the STARband are both designed to be active bands. There have been inexperienced Orthotists in the past who altered a STARband in a way that made it a passive band, but Orthomerica designed the STARband to be active (with holding points in a way that it re-directs the growth of the baby's head). Although there are differences in the look, design and weight of the DOC band vs the STARband...both can yield wonderful results if they are in the right hands (of an experienced Orhotist). We used a Hanger Cranial Band for our Daughter (which is essentially the same as the STARband) and we had a great experience and she got great correction! My best advice to you would be to interview the STARband Orthotist and find out how much experience he/she has. You can also go to Cranial Tech and talk to them.... go with your gut. If the STARband Ortho is not experienced you can always go to CT and appeal with your Ins. Good luck with your decision. Jen (21 mo), tort resolved, Hanger Band Grad (4 years) > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > both comparable? > > Thanks, > e > Mother of le > 4 months old > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 We had 2 starbands and switched to a doc band. If you can afford it I would just get the doc band right off the bat. I think it can be more complicated to " fix " a head that has not only been affected by positional plagio, but then also affected by an ill fitting helmet. If I could turn back the hands of time I'd have gone to Cranial Tech first even though it was over an 1800 mile trip for every adjustment and cost us about $500 for a plane ticket every time. Haylee mom to andre doc band grad > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > both comparable? > > Thanks, > e > Mother of le > 4 months old > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Oh you can also check out the comparison chart in our files section. Haylee > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > both comparable? > > Thanks, > e > Mother of le > 4 months old > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 wow haylee-i admire you!!!!!! i thought i was persistent! youre a great mom to do all of that! jeeze... i just drive 2 hrs to Conn. every two weeks, LOL. i also echo everything haylee said, just bite the bullet and get the DOC, IF you can. if you do, youre practically guaranteed a hassle free, WORRY free experience, which let me tell you is worth it weight in gold. we stressed and worried so much over our sons starband progress over 9 long weeks. first the blockiness then the extra height in back. plus they never told us the band was modified to be passive-at 8 mos he never should have been in a passive band!!! at ct we had we never could have never afforded the $3,000 up front, (our ins wouldnt pay for ANY helmet, so weve actually paid now for 2 helmets-$5,030 total) so they broke it down for us into very modest monthly payments-very doable. just tell them what you can do every month and they will work with you. its tempting to go with what your ins will pay for but i honestly feel the docband is the best. like haylee if i had to do it over again id just get the DOC from the beginning. best of luck to you-i know this is a very hard decision to make. marybeth mom to aidan, 12 mos, STARBAND and now DOCBAND right plagio and tort < (resolved) > > > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back > and > > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other > or > > both comparable? > > > > Thanks, > > e > > Mother of le > > 4 months old > > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 My question is for Haylee. I was wondering how you ended up with 2 STARbands before switching to a DOC? How did you know that the STARband wasn't working or needed replacing? I'm curious because my son has been in a STARband now for 5 weeks and I don't know how to tell if it's doing it's job. He's 7 1/2 months old and we're not sure how long we should wait for visible correction before saying it's not working and switch to a DOC. The DOC facility is over 9 hours - round trip from our house. The STAR facility is only 20 minutes away. Thanks for your info. Becky Will's mom (STARband 4-3-06)haylee204 <rascle204@...> wrote: We had 2 starbands and switched to a doc band. If you can afford it I would just get the doc band right off the bat. I think it can be more complicated to "fix" a head that has not only been affected by positional plagio, but then also affected by an ill fitting helmet. If I could turn back the hands of time I'd have gone to Cranial Tech first even though it was over an 1800 mile trip for every adjustment and cost us about $500 for a plane ticket every time. Haylee mom to andre doc band grad > > Does anyone have information on the DOC versus STAR band? Our > pediatrician is recommending the DOC Band but insurance came back and > said STAR is the in network provider. Is one better than the other or > both comparable? > > Thanks, > e > Mother of le > 4 months old > Torticollis and plagiocephaly > Talk is cheap. Use Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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