's Useless Helmet

[Guest guest]

Okay, okay! Sorry about that! I had to say it. I promised myself

(and ) that when I posted about this I'd try to keep the drama

to a minimum. But, I'm feeling rather dramatic about this so it's

hard!

was fitted with a STARband 8wks ago. We were very compliant

and followed all the rules. But, the more I read about plagio and

STARbands, the more suspicious I became about his treatment.

's plagio is moderate. He has 1cm (10mm) difference in his

cross measurements, forehead bossing and ear misalignment.

The first clue that something wasn't right was that the helmet took

forever to come in after casting. It should have been fitted no more

than 14days after casting, but it was fitted 21days after casting.

It was too small and it took forever for the orthos to try to fix

it. The first night he slept in it, it rubbed a huge sore on his

head. We had to leave it off for 2.5days for that to heal and one

ortho shaved the foam all the way down to the shell to make room for

the prominent side of his head (which had grown since casting). That

was problem #2. Once the foam is shaved down to the liner,

evidently you've outgrown the helmet. We kept going to the appts.

and the cross measurements never changed. Problem #3 was what

eventually put me over the edge. I asked the ortho how the helmet

could act as an active device when it was so loose. He told me,

mistakenly, that it was a passive device, only there to provide a

concave surface for the baby's head to lay on! ding ding ding!

(okay, i know...drama again) That's pretty basic for these kinds of

helmets. If he thought it was passive, I knew he had probably fitted

it like a passive device. That, and he wasn't concerned that in

seven weeks we had no measurable progress.

So, thanks to those of you who helped educate me about all this

helmet/plagio stuff and to those of you who pused me to get a second

opinion! We took him to UNC hospital yesterday. The ortho

pronounced the old helmet doa (dead on arrivial). We had a new cast

made of his head and will be starting all over again with a new

helmet in two weeks! He will be almost ten mo old when he gets it.

I'm trying to be optimistic about this, but it makes me sick to think

of what he's been through for nothing. He's sweated in it, it's

rubbed sores on his head, it used to drive him nuts, and it was all

for nothing! So, now when I think back and remember all the posts

that say that getting an experienced ortho is everything, I get it!

I am so thankful for what I've learned from this group. Without it,

we would have continued treatment with a helmet that would never have

done any good. Thank you guys so much!

*9mo*tort resolved*lft plagio*STARband 8wks (soon to be

discarded)

Conner *2yrs

NC USA

[Guest guest]

Hi . I'm sorry about 's experience, but glad that all

our suspicions are confirmed and you're tossing that horrible

helmet. Two months is a lot of time to waste BUT you still have time

to get good correction for him. I hope he'll grow really fast in his

new band. At least the first two weeks so you can see a change. You

guys really deserve to see that this does work.

-christine

sydney 2 yrs starband grad

>

> Okay, okay! Sorry about that! I had to say it. I promised

myself

> (and ) that when I posted about this I'd try to keep the

drama

> to a minimum. But, I'm feeling rather dramatic about this so it's

> hard!

>

> was fitted with a STARband 8wks ago. We were very

compliant

> and followed all the rules. But, the more I read about plagio and

> STARbands, the more suspicious I became about his treatment.

>

> 's plagio is moderate. He has 1cm (10mm) difference in his

> cross measurements, forehead bossing and ear misalignment.

>

> The first clue that something wasn't right was that the helmet

took

> forever to come in after casting. It should have been fitted no

more

> than 14days after casting, but it was fitted 21days after

casting.

> It was too small and it took forever for the orthos to try to fix

> it. The first night he slept in it, it rubbed a huge sore on his

> head. We had to leave it off for 2.5days for that to heal and one

> ortho shaved the foam all the way down to the shell to make room

for

> the prominent side of his head (which had grown since casting).

That

> was problem #2. Once the foam is shaved down to the liner,

> evidently you've outgrown the helmet. We kept going to the appts.

> and the cross measurements never changed. Problem #3 was what

> eventually put me over the edge. I asked the ortho how the helmet

> could act as an active device when it was so loose. He told me,

> mistakenly, that it was a passive device, only there to provide a

> concave surface for the baby's head to lay on! ding ding ding!

> (okay, i know...drama again) That's pretty basic for these kinds

of

> helmets. If he thought it was passive, I knew he had probably

fitted

> it like a passive device. That, and he wasn't concerned that in

> seven weeks we had no measurable progress.

>

> So, thanks to those of you who helped educate me about all this

> helmet/plagio stuff and to those of you who pused me to get a

second

> opinion! We took him to UNC hospital yesterday. The ortho

> pronounced the old helmet doa (dead on arrivial). We had a new

cast

> made of his head and will be starting all over again with a new

> helmet in two weeks! He will be almost ten mo old when he gets

it.

>

> I'm trying to be optimistic about this, but it makes me sick to

think

> of what he's been through for nothing. He's sweated in it, it's

> rubbed sores on his head, it used to drive him nuts, and it was

all

> for nothing! So, now when I think back and remember all the

posts

> that say that getting an experienced ortho is everything, I get

it!

> I am so thankful for what I've learned from this group. Without

it,

> we would have continued treatment with a helmet that would never

have

> done any good. Thank you guys so much!

>

>

> *9mo*tort resolved*lft plagio*STARband 8wks (soon to be

> discarded)

> Conner *2yrs

> NC USA

>