RE: Maysa's appointment with ECA

[Guest guest]

It sounds like you are really educating yourself before choosing a band.

You're lucky that you have so many choices in your area!

To clarify about the STARband, it is possible for the ortho to drill air

holes in the band. My son had several on his and that seemed to make him a

bit cooler. The key is to have the holes drilled where the head isn't

touching the band so that would be where the flat spot of the head is. In

your case, they could drill holes in the back where there is space for her

head to grow. Our STARband also had the " stop " feature on it. It was a

piece of foam that fit between the side gap of the band (it was glued to one

side of the band so it was always there, it wasn't like it was a piece of

foam that I had to put in and out every time); when we put the band on we

just pulled the strap until the two sides met and it wasn't possible to pull

it any tighter. Also keep in mind, with both the DOC and STARbands you can

pull them apart quite far to make putting on really easy. They won't break

so you can pull them really far apart.

Let us know how your appointment with Hanger goes!

Molly

Novato, California

Nicolas, 2.5, tort & plagio, STARband (CIRS Oakland) 4/24/06-9/12/06,

Graduate!

, 5

, 8.5

Maysa's appointment with ECA

Good evening all,

My husband and I took Maysa (5m 1w) to her evaluation appointment

with ECA, in Arlington, VA this afternoon. What can I say? I really

love this ortho and what he does.

He started off by asking a few questions and answering ours, felt

Maysa's head and then preped her for the scan. His method of

scanning is different from that of Orthoamerica. On top of the

white " sock " that he had to put over her head he placed several

markers and dots. He then took a manual scanner and scanned her over

and over and over in every possible direction to cover every possible

spot. It took some time but that's what he needed to do.

His measurements were close to those of Orthoamerica: little plagio

(7mm) but severe brachy (98%). He then explained to us things that I

already knew (mostly) and talked about what his goals were for

Maysa. He wants to see the back of her head round up nicely and grow

1 to 2cm in the back. He also wants to correct the asymetry in the

left part of her forhead. Her ears are barely misaligned so it is of

no big concerns.

He then showed us the helmet he fabricates and explained to us what

Maysa's would look like; tight on each side of her head and room to

grow on the back. What I really like about this helmet is that it

has holes in it that allows for more air to go through. It is also

clear so you can see right away if the helmet is pressing to hard on

the skull. What I like the most is the " stop " feature of the

helmet. It is set by him so that whenever you take off the helmet

and put it back on, you can never over or under tighten it. The

helmet also opens up wide (unlike the one I was shown by

Orthoamerica) making it easy to take off and put on. It is also less

thick than the DOCband and the STARband, hopefully making it easier

to put on clothes. The only negative I can find is that it really

doesn't look good and I don't how decorating one can do with it!

Joe Terpenning, the ortho, is a very personable and professional guy

in my opinion. I felt right at home talking to him. I never felt

like he was trying to sell us anything. He explained to us that our

insurance will most likely not cover any of it but that we should try

anyway. He designs the helmet himself, the adjustments and follow up

visits and pretty much everything in between... I really had a good

vibe about this guy!

This said, I have one last appointment with Hanger tomorrow. I will

give them a shot and then make my decision on what helmet to go for.

Has anybody else out there dealt with ECA before?

Thanks and good luck to all of you.

Leila (mother of Maysa 5m 1w, soon to wear a helmet)

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