New to group/2nd Son has Plagio

[Guest guest]

Hi, my name is and my second son Owen (5 1/2 months) is going for

his initial consult concerning his Plagio at Children's Hospital this

Friday. Could anyone tell me what I should expect? This is my first

time joining an online group so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Welcome to the board! It may be hard to say for sure what to expect at

your first consult. What kind of doctor are you seeing? Which

Children's Hospital are you going to? If you post where you are going,

someone might be able to help with a specific experience at the same

place. Some doctors just look at the head and rub their hands over it

and then give their opinion. Others may take measurements. It really

just depends. Has craniosynostisis (premature fusing of the skull

sutures) been ruled out? We saw a neurosurgeon first who sent us for a

CT scan to rule out cranio. It did and he rubbed his hand over my

son's head and said he was fine, he was in and out in 5 minutes. We

later saw a cranial facial surgeon who tested my son's neck (he had

torticollis as a baby but it was worked out in PT) and spent more time

discussing the issues with us. So it's hard to say for sure. But

hopefully someone will have experience with your doctor or hospital

and will be able to tell you more.

Good luck!

Jake-19m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand 10 weeks)

Jordan-4

>

> Hi, my name is and my second son Owen (5 1/2 months) is going

for

> his initial consult concerning his Plagio at Children's Hospital

this

> Friday. Could anyone tell me what I should expect? This is my first

> time joining an online group so any tips would be greatly

appreciated.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

where do you live (which Children's hospital)? someone might be

familiar with that group specifically. We say a cranio facial plastic

surgeon at our HMO (Kaiser in Northern CA). He took measurements of

Sydney's head using calipers (a pretty simple hinged ruler used to

measure the head). By comparing these measurements he told us our

daughter had brachy (flat in back) and that he would recommend banding

or we had the option of waiting two months and coming back to see if

it improved with repositioning. We got a referral to a band provider,

and decided to go ahead with the band. He showed us some before and

after pics so we would be more familiar with the process.

There are several bands available. The most popular are the DOCband

(cranialtech.com), STARband (orthomerica.com) and Hanger. There are

others too. Of the ones I mentioned the DOCband is provided by cranial

tech as their only product so staff is well trained. The STAR and

Hanger bands are used by orthotist that may do many kinds of

treatments including banding. So you need to check out the person

providing the band and make sure they have good experience banding kids.

Our daughter was referred to a specialist at 4 mo, and had her band by

age 5 mo. She wore her band for 5 mo, but most babies probably wear

there band for 3 or 4 month. It depends on the severity of the head

shape and how quickly the baby grows. It is really pretty easy once

you get used to it (and get over the initial shock).

Feel free to ask any questions you have.

-christine

sydney 2 yrs starband grad

>

> Hi, my name is and my second son Owen (5 1/2 months) is going for

> his initial consult concerning his Plagio at Children's Hospital this

> Friday. Could anyone tell me what I should expect? This is my first

> time joining an online group so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi , thanks for the response...

We live in Michigan so we are being referred by Owen's pediatrition to Children's Hospital of Detroit. The doctor we are seeing is a Cranio Specialist who deals with children who have been diagnosed with positional Plagio. Our pediatrition told me that his skull was still open and not fused but that they will be taking a CT to be sure. The only other things they told me were that we would be meeting with providers after our initial consult with the doctor and that they would also be taking a mold of his head to ensure that we get the helmet within two weeks from tomorrow's visit. She said that we would probably be looking at 4 months of full time correction and that by early fall everything would be back on track. Does all of this sound about right? After reading some of the posts I am a little confused about the different forms of correction (DOCband, STARband, Hanger).

Is this why I will meeting with different providers? Is one better than another or is it based on insurance? I already contacted mine and they told me that my school's insurance only covers half of orthotic procedures which means roughly that we will be paying anywhere from $400-$600? Is there anyway this could be covered if the doctor writes it up a certain way? My neighbor who does medical billing for U of Michigan said that often times it just depends on how a doctor writes it up. My pediatrition felt that Owen's condition started in utero since he was close to 10lbs. at birth and I was reading that if the doctor writes it up as a birth defect than insurance companies stop referring to the correction as strictly cosmetic. Is any of this true or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to my questions...this forum does make me feel better about the whole thing. I felt like I was the only one since none of my friends have ever had to experience this. My husband and I know that it is necessary and we are going to go the distance I just wish the process to get there was a little clearer and easier but we know that in the grand scheme of things this is mild compare to what some families go through.

Thanks again,

Sims

Re: New to group/2nd Son has Plagio

Hi ,where do you live (which Children's hospital)? someone might befamiliar with that group specifically. We say a cranio facial plasticsurgeon at our HMO (Kaiser in Northern CA). He took measurements ofSydney's head using calipers (a pretty simple hinged ruler used tomeasure the head). By comparing these measurements he told us ourdaughter had brachy (flat in back) and that he would recommend bandingor we had the option of waiting two months and coming back to see ifit improved with repositioning. We got a referral to a band provider,and decided to go ahead with the band. He showed us some before andafter pics so we would be more familiar with the process.There are several bands available. The most popular are the DOCband(cranialtech. com), STARband (orthomerica. com) and Hanger. There areothers too. Of the ones I mentioned the DOCband is provided by cranialtech as their only product so

staff is well trained. The STAR andHanger bands are used by orthotist that may do many kinds oftreatments including banding. So you need to check out the personproviding the band and make sure they have good experience banding kids.Our daughter was referred to a specialist at 4 mo, and had her band byage 5 mo. She wore her band for 5 mo, but most babies probably wear there band for 3 or 4 month. It depends on the severity of the headshape and how quickly the baby grows. It is really pretty easy onceyou get used to it (and get over the initial shock).Feel free to ask any questions you have.-christinesydney 2 yrs starband grad>> Hi, my name is and my second son Owen (5 1/2

months) is going for > his initial consult concerning his Plagio at Children's Hospital this > Friday. Could anyone tell me what I should expect? This is my first > time joining an online group so any tips would be greatly appreciated.>

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Hi , thanks for the response...

We live in Michigan so we are being referred by Owen's pediatrition to Children's Hospital of Detroit. The doctor we are seeing is a Cranio Specialist who deals with children who have been diagnosed with positional Plagio. Our pediatrition told me that his skull was still open and not fused but that they will be taking a CT to be sure. The only other things they told me were that we would be meeting with providers after our initial consult with the doctor and that they would also be taking a mold of his head to ensure that we get the helmet within two weeks from tomorrow's visit. She said that we would probably be looking at 4 months of full time correction and that

by early fall everything would be back on track. Does all of this sound about right? After reading some of the posts I am a little confused about the different forms of correction (DOCband, STARband, Hanger). Is this why I will meeting with different providers? Is one better than another or is it based on insurance? I already contacted mine and they told me that my school's insurance only covers half of orthotic procedures which means roughly that we will be paying anywhere from $400-$600? Is there anyway this could be covered if the doctor writes it up a certain way? My neighbor who does medical billing for U of Michigan said that often times it just depends on how a doctor writes it up. My pediatrition felt that Owen's condition started in utero since he was close to 10lbs. at birth and I was reading that if the doctor writes it up as a birth defect than insurance companies stop referring to the correction as strictly cosmetic. Is any of this

true or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to my questions...this forum does make me feel better about the whole thing. I felt like I was the only one since none of my friends have ever had to experience this. My husband and I know that it is necessary and we are going to go the distance I just wish the process to get there was a little clearer and easier but we know that in the grand scheme of things this is mild compare to what some families go through.

Thanks again,

Sims

Re: New to group/2nd Son has Plagio

Hi -Welcome to the board! It may be hard to say for sure what to expect at your first consult. What kind of doctor are you seeing? Which Children's Hospital are you going to? If you post where you are going, someone might be able to help with a specific experience at the same place. Some doctors just look at the head and rub their hands over it and then give their opinion. Others may take measurements. It really just depends. Has craniosynostisis (premature fusing of the skull sutures) been ruled out? We saw a neurosurgeon first who sent us for a CT scan to rule out cranio. It did and he rubbed his hand over my son's head and said he was fine, he was in and out in 5 minutes. We later saw a cranial facial surgeon who tested my son's neck (he had torticollis as a baby but it was worked out in PT) and spent more time discussing the issues with us. So it's hard to say for sure. But hopefully

someone will have experience with your doctor or hospital and will be able to tell you more. Good luck!Jake-19m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand 10 weeks)Jordan-4>> Hi, my name is and my second son Owen (5 1/2 months) is going for > his initial consult concerning his Plagio at Children's Hospital this > Friday. Could anyone tell me what I should expect? This is my first > time joining an online group so any tips would be greatly appreciated.>

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.