Take a Look and Tell Me What You Think

May 12, 2008

I've just posted photos of my grandson in the " H " album. He's at the

very end, the 4 pictures labelled " HTB. "

I guess I just need some more eyes to tell me I'm not crazy, and that

my grandson has brachy. I see no other symptoms - no plagio, no tort,

or eye or ear asymmetry - although I am wondering if his forehead

qualifies as bossing a bit. What I see is a darling baby, but one with

a very flat head in the back, enough so that he needs treatment.

He'll be 5 months on the 22nd, and just went to the pediatrician for

his second set of shots. I asked my son to have the ped evaluate the

baby's head, and I even handed my son a folder to take with him, which

I filled with resources, photos, the brachy evaluation form from

Cranial Tech, and other general information on brachy, most of which I

got from this wonderful group.

The result of that visit was that the Dr. took the all too common,

conservative, " wait and see/it will probably resolve on its own "

approach and sent them merrily on their way. The good news is that his

wait-and-see window is fairly brief - one month - so if (and most

likely when) the baby's sweet little flat head hasn't changed, the Dr.

has said he will re-consider then. Despite my efforts to advocate for

the helmet/banding (sooner than later), I think my son was secretly

relieved to hear the Dr. say that he sees this all the time - every

day in fact - and my grandson's head is not that bad and that it will

almost surely be fine as he grows. My only comfort is that he is

willing to take a second look in a month.

I really need some support here, and I am asking someone (any of you

who would like to venture your opinion) to take a look at the pictures

I posted and tell me straight up what you think.It might help my son

come out of denial if, in fact, you experienced moms see what I think

I see. If, however, you think I'm over-reacting, let me know that,

too! I need your eyes and insights for a second opinion that I will

truly value.

Thanks,

Susie

May 12, 2008

Hi Susie,

I see an adorable little boy who's head shape looks exactly like my daughter's

-- it's bracy.

My daughter didn't have plagio, no tort, no noticeable asymmetry, just a flat

back of the

head and very noticeable from one profile and the other profile looked normal.

I will tell you that unlike many on this message board, my pediatrician has

been great --

open and very honest with us. When we discussed it at her 2 month check up,

where it

was already very noticeable, she mentioned the need to try to keep all pressure

off of the

head, said that if it didn't improve that a helmet might be needed to correct it

(that was

the first time I'd ever heard of that), then when it didn't improve, we

discussed, she

answered as much questions as she could and sent me to a cranio/plastic surgeon

for a

referral and told us time was of the essence. She asked if we felt her flatness

had

improved over the last few months, and while it wasn't as severe as when she was

2

months/4 months, it was still quite noticeable. I asked her if my daughter would

" grow

out of it, " and she said what all ped docs should say: " If I knew the answer to

that, I

wouldn't be here, I would be in Vegas making a lot of money. " The answer is just

unknown. Sometimes the head shape can improve on its own without the need of

helmet,

and I think some don't. There's no way to know beforehand. I think that's why

this

message board is so pro-banding. No one wants to risk it or give the wait and

see

approach, because if you wait and you don't see improvement, there's not much

you can

do. I had a lot of conflict about deciding what to do, but when I saw a 5 year

old boy that

did not receive a helmet and I saw the same flat head shape as my baby now, I

decided to

do something. Also, one mother on this site compared the banding to braces --

which

sealed the deal and most of my friends understand this analogy when I explain

why my

daughter is wearing the device.

That's just my two cents, but I'm a firm believer in letting the individual

parent decide

what's best. As much as you love your grandson and have done so much research to

hopefully better his life, in the long run, your son and the child's mother must

be

comfortable and confident in their decision -- whatever that decision may be.

You're

doing the right thing in giving them all the information you know, though. You

are a

wonderful and caring grandmother!

>

> I've just posted photos of my grandson in the " H " album. He's at the

> very end, the 4 pictures labelled " HTB. "

>

> I guess I just need some more eyes to tell me I'm not crazy, and that

> my grandson has brachy. I see no other symptoms - no plagio, no tort,

> or eye or ear asymmetry - although I am wondering if his forehead

> qualifies as bossing a bit. What I see is a darling baby, but one with

> a very flat head in the back, enough so that he needs treatment.

>

> He'll be 5 months on the 22nd, and just went to the pediatrician for

> his second set of shots. I asked my son to have the ped evaluate the

> baby's head, and I even handed my son a folder to take with him, which

> I filled with resources, photos, the brachy evaluation form from

> Cranial Tech, and other general information on brachy, most of which I

> got from this wonderful group.

>

> The result of that visit was that the Dr. took the all too common,

> conservative, " wait and see/it will probably resolve on its own "

> approach and sent them merrily on their way. The good news is that his

> wait-and-see window is fairly brief - one month - so if (and most

> likely when) the baby's sweet little flat head hasn't changed, the Dr.

> has said he will re-consider then. Despite my efforts to advocate for

> the helmet/banding (sooner than later), I think my son was secretly

> relieved to hear the Dr. say that he sees this all the time - every

> day in fact - and my grandson's head is not that bad and that it will

> almost surely be fine as he grows. My only comfort is that he is

> willing to take a second look in a month.

>

> I really need some support here, and I am asking someone (any of you

> who would like to venture your opinion) to take a look at the pictures

> I posted and tell me straight up what you think.It might help my son

> come out of denial if, in fact, you experienced moms see what I think

> I see. If, however, you think I'm over-reacting, let me know that,

> too! I need your eyes and insights for a second opinion that I will

> truly value.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Susie

>

May 13, 2008

Hi,

he definitely has brachy, with some extra height. The shot that is

missing it a bird's eye view of his head. This is usually the best for

showing asymmetry & /or extra width (which is common with brachy). The

cephalic index tells the severity of brachy. This measurement is the

(width of the head)/(length of head). Where width is side to side at

the widest part, and length is front to back. Normal is about 80%, but

I suspect your grandson is much higher. Can you post a photo like that?

Either way I think he needs a band, but if the head already has a lot

of extra width I would push for banding sooner.

Thanks. -christine

sydney 2 yrs starband grad