Guest guest Posted July 11, 2001 Report Share Posted July 11, 2001 Hi! I'm new to the group. I hope you can help. My son Ben was diagnosed with torticollis and Positional Plagiocephaly at 4 mos. He started wearing a DOC band at 7 mos. He's now 11 mos old and has outgrown the DOC band. His plastic surgeon has said he needs a second band because his ears are still out of alignment (by 8 millimeters). His head shape is out of alignment now by only 5 mm. We won our appeal with insurance to pay for the first helmet, but we are still waiting to hear on the second helmet (precertification). Last week we went to a different plastic surgeon at the Wake Forest Univ Hospital (Bowman Gray Medical School) for a second opinion. She treats children with plagiocephaly with a soft helmet. This helmet has a foam type of block attached to the outside of the helmet, on the flat side of his head, to discourage him from laying on the flat side of his head. He literally can't lay on his back with his head turned to the side that is flat. We're trying this helmet on him now, and it does not bother him a bit. He only needs to wear it when he sleeps. So it's great to see his head again at play time. This soft helmet only costs $150, and I do know one younger baby where it was very effective in correcting her plagiocephaly. This doctor also mentioned that with the babies she treats with the soft helmet, she sees their ears correct at the age of 18 to 24 months. The reason why they correct later is because the skull base grows more slowly than the rest of the skull. That's why we are seeing slower correction with his ears than with the top of his head. Also, she cautioned us against using any devices which apply pressure to reshape his skull. They just don't recommend that type of treatment. Personally, I think since this is a relatively new medical condition, different people have different opinions on the best treatment for this condition. As a parent, I want to know what the best treatment is, we all want what's best for our babies. But I don't think that answer truly exists today. More research needs to be done. So my question is... if you had to get a second DOC band to correct ear misalignment, was it successful and how long did it take to correct (and how old was your child). If you used a soft helmet, did the ears correct later on - at 18 to 24 months? Thanks for your help! Also, I have a picture of Ben to put out here. Just not sure where to post it or how to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 11, 2001 Report Share Posted July 11, 2001 , I would go with the DOC to finish tratment, then maybe the second helmet later to make them sleep opposite. The Ideal situation would be to wear the Doc with the block on the side. Soon if this is a good solution for Tort babies who only prefer one side then maybe the Doc babie with Tort might get this as a option in the future. To correct Tort doesent have a time limit as much as the Plagio so I would go with the Doc while you still have time. We did the Doc at 13 mths and got a 50% correction. Good Luck, lorraine Fl. > Hi! I'm new to the group. I hope you can help. My son Ben was > diagnosed with torticollis and Positional Plagiocephaly at 4 mos. He > started wearing a DOC band at 7 mos. He's now 11 mos old and has > outgrown the DOC band. His plastic surgeon has said he needs a > second band because his ears are still out of alignment (by 8 > millimeters). His head shape is out of alignment now by only 5 mm. > We won our appeal with insurance to pay for the first helmet, but we > are still waiting to hear on the second helmet (precertification). > > Last week we went to a different plastic surgeon at the Wake Forest > Univ Hospital (Bowman Gray Medical School) for a second opinion. She > treats children with plagiocephaly with a soft helmet. This helmet > has a foam type of block attached to the outside of the helmet, on > the flat side of his head, to discourage him from laying on the flat > side of his head. He literally can't lay on his back with his head > turned to the side that is flat. We're trying this helmet on him > now, and it does not bother him a bit. He only needs to wear it when > he sleeps. So it's great to see his head again at play time. > > This soft helmet only costs $150, and I do know one younger baby > where it was very effective in correcting her plagiocephaly. This > doctor also mentioned that with the babies she treats with the soft > helmet, she sees their ears correct at the age of 18 to 24 months. > The reason why they correct later is because the skull base grows > more slowly than the rest of the skull. That's why we are seeing > slower correction with his ears than with the top of his head. Also, > she cautioned us against using any devices which apply pressure to > reshape his skull. They just don't recommend that type of treatment. > > Personally, I think since this is a relatively new medical condition, > different people have different opinions on the best treatment for > this condition. As a parent, I want to know what the best treatment > is, we all want what's best for our babies. But I don't think that > answer truly exists today. More research needs to be done. > > So my question is... if you had to get a second DOC band to correct > ear misalignment, was it successful and how long did it take to > correct (and how old was your child). If you used a soft helmet, did > the ears correct later on - at 18 to 24 months? > > Thanks for your help! > > Also, I have a picture of Ben to put out here. Just not sure where > to post it or how to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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