Hanger or Starband hemlet?

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and just starting the process of getting a

helmet for my 4-1/2 month old who is moderate-to-severe plagio; closer

to severe. We need to choose between two orthotists and I'm really

torn between the two. Any advice or personal experieces would really

be appreciated.

1st orthotist is LAWALL O & P:

- Uses the Starband

- Uses plaster casting method (which looks so scarey to me.)

- Has a specialist that only works with cranial helmets

- Is about a ten minute further drive from us

2nd orthotist is HANGER P & O:

- Uses the Hanger cranial helmet

- Uses the Insignia scanning process

(which seems less tramatic and, from what I've read, more accurate?)

- An acquaintance/friend of ours is the orthotist who would perform

all the adjustments; However she doesn't deal exclusively with cranial

helmets

- Is a little closer to our home

Based on years of experience and the fact that they have a specialist,

the Lawall location would be my first choice. However I really prefer

Hanger's scanning process for our little guy. (He's definitely NOT a

laid back, easy-going baby.) Plus we'd know the orthotist and have a

somewhat shorter drive.

I think my major question is ...

Do you think there's a major quality difference between the Hanger

helmet and the Starband?

Has anyone else had to make a similar decision? Are you happy with the

outcome? Any input is appreaciated. I'm so confused.

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Hello and welcome to the group. My Daughter was also moderate

plagio (14mm) and we had a few options when deciding on her band

too. We went with Hanger and were very pleased with her results...

and everything about the Hanger location that we used. The Insignia

Scanner was very easy and neat.

The STARband and the Hanger Cranial Band are essentially the same,

as far as the look/design, their weight (about 8oz) and the way in

which they work (they are both designed to be active bands, which

means that they have " holding POints " on the baby's head where the

head is more prominent/buldging and there is space where the flat

areas are to allow them to " pop-out " /fill in). Active bands

actually redirect the growth of the baby's head.

Whenever you are choosing a place to have your baby banded, the MOST

important thing is that you choose an Orthotist with plenty of

experience banding plagio babies. Do you know how much experience

the Hanger Orthotist has? You mentioned that the Lawall Orthotist

specializes in Cranial Orthotics... do you know how much experience

(years, how many babies, how often, etc) he/she has?

There have been people who have had great STARband success stories

and others with great Hanger success stories. Others have had not

so good experiences with both facilities, due to inexperienced

Orthotists. Making sure that your Orthotist has the experience,

knowledge, etc is the real KEY in choosing the right facility.

Where are you located? Maybe if you tell us the location of the 2

facilities others can share experiences if they went there and/or

concidered going there.

Good luck with your decision. Let us know what you decide and keep

us updated.

Jen

(22 mo), tort resolved, Hanger Band Grad

(4 years)

>

> Hi everyone! I'm new here and just starting the process of getting

a

> helmet for my 4-1/2 month old who is moderate-to-severe plagio;

closer

> to severe. We need to choose between two orthotists and I'm really

> torn between the two. Any advice or personal experieces would

really

> be appreciated.

>

> 1st orthotist is LAWALL O & P:

> - Uses the Starband

> - Uses plaster casting method (which looks so scarey to me.)

> - Has a specialist that only works with cranial helmets

> - Is about a ten minute further drive from us

>

> 2nd orthotist is HANGER P & O:

> - Uses the Hanger cranial helmet

> - Uses the Insignia scanning process

> (which seems less tramatic and, from what I've read, more

accurate?)

> - An acquaintance/friend of ours is the orthotist who would perform

> all the adjustments; However she doesn't deal exclusively with

cranial

> helmets

> - Is a little closer to our home

>

> Based on years of experience and the fact that they have a

specialist,

> the Lawall location would be my first choice. However I really

prefer

> Hanger's scanning process for our little guy. (He's definitely NOT

a

> laid back, easy-going baby.) Plus we'd know the orthotist and have

a

> somewhat shorter drive.

>

> I think my major question is ...

> Do you think there's a major quality difference between the Hanger

> helmet and the Starband?

>

> Has anyone else had to make a similar decision? Are you happy with

the

> outcome? Any input is appreaciated. I'm so confused.

>

> Thanks!

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello & welcome. We just got our helmet(STARband) on my 6mth old son last Wednesday. Today is the first day we are wearing 23hr/day. We are going to Hanger P & O in Overland Park, Kansas. They ordered us a STARband and my orthotist stated that the Hanger Band and the STARband are pretty much the same thing. He thinks that the STARband works a little bit better. Maybe the Hanger location you are thinking about using can order you a STARband too and then you would be able to be closer to home and have the a familiar person around your child. As stated previously....be sure that the orthotist is experienced. That is the MOST important thing. Ann - Mom to Collin ....STARband 5/31/06.Jen <ronandjenvelez@...> wrote: Hello and welcome to the group. My

Daughter was also moderate plagio (14mm) and we had a few options when deciding on her band too. We went with Hanger and were very pleased with her results... and everything about the Hanger location that we used. The Insignia Scanner was very easy and neat.The STARband and the Hanger Cranial Band are essentially the same, as far as the look/design, their weight (about 8oz) and the way in which they work (they are both designed to be active bands, which means that they have "holding POints" on the baby's head where the head is more prominent/buldging and there is space where the flat areas are to allow them to "pop-out"/fill in). Active bands actually redirect the growth of the baby's head.Whenever you are choosing a place to have your baby banded, the MOST important thing is that you choose an Orthotist with plenty of experience banding plagio babies. Do you know how much experience

the Hanger Orthotist has? You mentioned that the Lawall Orthotist specializes in Cranial Orthotics... do you know how much experience (years, how many babies, how often, etc) he/she has?There have been people who have had great STARband success stories and others with great Hanger success stories. Others have had not so good experiences with both facilities, due to inexperienced Orthotists. Making sure that your Orthotist has the experience, knowledge, etc is the real KEY in choosing the right facility. :)Where are you located? Maybe if you tell us the location of the 2 facilities others can share experiences if they went there and/or concidered going there.Good luck with your decision. Let us know what you decide and keep us updated.Jen (22 mo), tort resolved, Hanger Band Grad (4 years)>> Hi everyone! I'm new here and just starting the process of getting a> helmet for my 4-1/2 month old who is moderate-to-severe plagio; closer> to severe. We need to choose between two orthotists and I'm really> torn between the two. Any advice or personal experieces would really> be appreciated.> > 1st orthotist is LAWALL O & P:> - Uses the Starband> - Uses plaster casting method (which looks so scarey to me.)> - Has a specialist that only works with cranial helmets> - Is about a ten minute further drive from us> > 2nd orthotist is HANGER P & O:> - Uses the Hanger cranial helmet> - Uses the Insignia scanning process> (which seems less tramatic and, from what I've read, more accurate?)> - An acquaintance/friend of ours is the orthotist who would perform> all the adjustments; However

she doesn't deal exclusively with cranial> helmets > - Is a little closer to our home> > Based on years of experience and the fact that they have a specialist,> the Lawall location would be my first choice. However I really prefer> Hanger's scanning process for our little guy. (He's definitely NOT a> laid back, easy-going baby.) Plus we'd know the orthotist and have a> somewhat shorter drive.> > I think my major question is ...> Do you think there's a major quality difference between the Hanger> helmet and the Starband?> > Has anyone else had to make a similar decision? Are you happy with the> outcome? Any input is appreaciated. I'm so confused.> > Thanks!> >

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I've been reading the responses to this post, and I completely agree with

everyone that the

orthotist is the most important thing to consider when choosing a place.

However, it also

seems to me like you have some concerns about casting vs. scanning, and I wanted

to say

something about that.

Yes, casting is messy and it can be a bit unnerving to see your child's head

covered in a

white mass. However, it does not hurt your child and it only lasts about ten

minutes.

Casting allows the orthotist to form an exact copy of your child's head and form

the

helmet accordingly. From what I've read, the accuracy is about the same for

both

methods.

As far as the actual casting process, there are a series of pictures on this

site posted by

someone showing the casting process, I'm not sure where exactly. I can also

tell you

about our experience at Cranial Tech.

The casting was a quick and efficient process. Everything was ready when we

walked in,

and the therapist told me exactly what she was going to do and gave me a chance

to ask

any questions. After stripping my son Devlan down to his diaper, he had a

stocking put

over his head with a hole cut out for his mouth, which enables mom to provide a

bottle,

pacifier, lollipop, or whatever might comfort her child (unfortunately, Devlan

prefers his

fingers, but they couldn't be near his head for obvious reasons). His eyes were

covered,

but he could still see (I held up a piece and could see through a double

thickness). This

minimizes the chance of anything getting into his eyes by accident, and is the

only thing

that goes over his face. It also helps with clean up. After marking his eyes

and ears, the

therapist applied seven pieces of plaster impregnated bandage. Three or four

were

applied around his face and the top of his head while he was lying down and then

we sat

him up and the rest were applied to the back of his head, rolling the edges so

that the

back was a separate piece from the front, which was already pretty much dry.

After the

therapist made some registration marks to line up the back and front pieces,

they were

removed and we were finished, except for the bath. I think the most frustrating

thing for

him was being held in one place and not being allowed to reach up and touch

whatever

was being put on his head.

I don't know if the orthotist at Lawall would follow the same procedure, but I

imagine it

would have to be similar. The most important thing is for you to remain calm

and

reassure your baby through a process which is different from anything that has

happened

before. Sing a lullaby, talk nonsense, whatever might help your baby.

I think sometimes it's easier to focus on the small issue (casting) while

wrestling with a big

issue (baby with plagio, needing to get a band). I hope I don't sound too

preachy or

pedantic or something, but please concentrate on which orthotist will do the

best job

correcting your childs head rather than on a specific 10 minutes of treatment.

I hope this helps. Please let us know what you decide.

Regards,

,

Mom to Devlan, DOC Band 5/11/06

>

> Hi everyone! I'm new here and just starting the process of getting a

> helmet for my 4-1/2 month old who is moderate-to-severe plagio; closer

> to severe. We need to choose between two orthotists and I'm really

> torn between the two. Any advice or personal experieces would really

> be appreciated.

>

> 1st orthotist is LAWALL O & P:

> - Uses the Starband

> - Uses plaster casting method (which looks so scarey to me.)

> - Has a specialist that only works with cranial helmets

> - Is about a ten minute further drive from us

>

> 2nd orthotist is HANGER P & O:

> - Uses the Hanger cranial helmet

> - Uses the Insignia scanning process

> (which seems less tramatic and, from what I've read, more accurate?)

> - An acquaintance/friend of ours is the orthotist who would perform

> all the adjustments; However she doesn't deal exclusively with cranial

> helmets

> - Is a little closer to our home

>

> Based on years of experience and the fact that they have a specialist,

> the Lawall location would be my first choice. However I really prefer

> Hanger's scanning process for our little guy. (He's definitely NOT a

> laid back, easy-going baby.) Plus we'd know the orthotist and have a

> somewhat shorter drive.

>

> I think my major question is ...

> Do you think there's a major quality difference between the Hanger

> helmet and the Starband?

>

> Has anyone else had to make a similar decision? Are you happy with the

> outcome? Any input is appreaciated. I'm so confused.

>

> Thanks!

>

>