Re: Reconstructive surgery for 3 year old

[Guest guest]

Surgery involves cutting open the scalp, cutting out part of the

skull, breaking it into small pieces and then piecing it back

together into a rounder shape. I believe in some instances it may

also involve a bone graft (pieces of bone taken from another part of

the body and added to the skull if there's not enough skull bone to

work with) but I can't remember from which part of the body the

graft would be done. I spoke to a craniofacial surgeon about surgery

for my son to correct a dent/slant he was born with on the front

side of his head above his left eye. I just wanted to know if it was

an option if he ever felt that it bothered him enough to want it

corrected when he got older and could make the decision for himself.

The doctor I spoke to said that in many instances, the scars (they

cut along the hairline but it can still be noticeable) and the whole

process would just be worse than what we were dealing with. So for

us, it's not an option. I have seen two moms' photo

documentaries/videos on their children's surgeries, one was to

correct positional plagio and the other was for cranio (premature

fusing of the skull sutures) and I believe the surgeries are

similar. I cried throughout both videos, it was really hard to look

at those beautiful children all black and blue and swollen in their

post-op photos. I would strongly, strongly, recommend doing all the

research you can on the surgery and seek multiple opinions before

going through with it. I would also follow Molly's suggestion to

check out the older plagio group. I am a member there and I know a

lot of those moms believe that alternative therapy treatments have

helped correct their child's head shape. It may be worth a try

before looking into the surgery.

Best of luck in whatever you decide.

Jake-2 next week! (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand #2 12 weeks)

Jordan-4

>

> Hi,

>

> My son had moderate plagio. It is enough to bother me. I had him

in a helmet at 18 months

> but it was really too old to make a big difference.

>

> I did some research and found a plastic surgeon who does surgery

to correct positional

> plagio. I have a consultation with him in a few weeks (earliest I

could get in) but I basically

> know nothing about the surgery. I asked the receptionist who set

my app.t and she doesn't

> know much but she did tell me a lot of kids like 2-6 year olds

come in for abnormal head

> shapes and the surgery does correct it. I just am anxious to

know the details of it and

> mostly how invasive and risky it is (receptionist didn't know).

>

> Does anyone know about this surgery to correct plagio?

>

> Thanks for listening,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Lesley,

My son actually had this surgery in July and he is doing absolutely

amazing. There is always risk with surgery, and the doctors will

tell you about all the possiblitilites in terms of complications...

they have to, it's their job. There are chances of bleeding and

infection, blindness... but these are not very common, but like I

said, they are possibilities. The first time we were told about the

risks, my fiance and I nearly ran. It's a very big decision and we

weighed out the options. If we didn't do the surgery, our son would

grow up probably hating his appearance and there was always the risk

that his brain wouldn't have room to grow. The surgery would correct

this, but what if there were complications. Ultimately, the doctor

sat us down and said " if I was in your position I would not want to

my child to have surgery. I would do what you guys are doing, weigh

out the options. However, eventually I would do the surgery. " Our

son had flattening on his forhead and the doctor explained that if

ever walked into a wall there would be nothing protecting his

eye and he would do permanent eye damage. The surgery was the best

decision for us because is now doing better developmentally

(because pressure was starting to occur in the brain) and his head

looks amazing. If you're on facebook there is a group called " we

love our cranio babies " and there are other parents on their with

similar stories. Surgery at this age is a very scary thing...

was 16 months... and it'll be the most intense hours of your

life.... We never want to see our children suffer, but in 3 days

was home and back to his old self.

>

> Hi,

>

> My son had moderate plagio. It is enough to bother me. I had him

in a helmet at 18 months

> but it was really too old to make a big difference.

>

> I did some research and found a plastic surgeon who does surgery to

correct positional

> plagio. I have a consultation with him in a few weeks (earliest I

could get in) but I basically

> know nothing about the surgery. I asked the receptionist who set

my app.t and she doesn't

> know much but she did tell me a lot of kids like 2-6 year olds come

in for abnormal head

> shapes and the surgery does correct it. I just am anxious to

know the details of it and

> mostly how invasive and risky it is (receptionist didn't know).

>

> Does anyone know about this surgery to correct plagio?

>

> Thanks for listening,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

This is very interesting to me. My 8 1/2 month daughter is in her

second DOC band and is doing fantastically!

My 3 1/2 year old son has positional plagio, typical flat back of the

head. Looking at baby pictures now, I see it then but I really see it

now. I actually had a dream about this last night, so I'm feeling like

I should persue this;)

First where are you? And how did you find this doctor? We are in NJ

and are close to both NY and Philadelphia. And how does a plastic

surgeon correct this with a fully developed skull?

Thanks!