Physiatrist vs. Neurologist?

July 25, 2008

My son was just seen for his 2 month well visit, and as I suspected

his pediatrician was concerned about his head shape... I've been

repositioning, stretching (I'm a therapist), etc, for the past three

or four weeks, and we've seen some improvement, but the pediatrician

was concerned enough to refer us to a specialist. She refered us to a

pediatric physiatrist, though - this makes sense if my son needs to

have physical therapy in addition to the stretching I'm doing, but I

sort of expected a referral to a neurologist since that's what I've

heard/read most people receive a referral for...

So my question is, has anyone been to a physiatrist instead of or in

addition to a neurologist? If you have been to a physiatrist, did

he/she refer you for imaging (CT/MRI), and then to a neuro? My son's

head is very " high " in addition to the plagio, so he's only in the

10th percentile for head circumference...

Thanks so much... this is all still very new to me!

July 26, 2008

Hi,

We were referred to a cranio facial plastic surgeon. Sometimes they

are more band-friendly than neuros. Sometimes neuros only want to

make sure the brain is growing okay and are less concerned with the

shape. We didn't get a CT or MRI scan. Our doctor could tell from the

shape and feeling her head that it was purely positional.

In terms of the extra height - that is often part of the brachy head

shape. My daughter had brachy, flat in back with extra width, but

height is also very common. It can also be corrected with a helmet.

What actually happens when it is " corrected " is that the new growth

is directed to the back, and the overall head shape will be more

balanced. The extra height and any prominent areas won't be reduced in

size, but the other areas will fill in.

-christine

sydney 2.5 yrs starband grad

>

> My son was just seen for his 2 month well visit, and as I suspected

> his pediatrician was concerned about his head shape... I've been

> repositioning, stretching (I'm a therapist), etc, for the past three

> or four weeks, and we've seen some improvement, but the pediatrician

> was concerned enough to refer us to a specialist. She refered us to a

> pediatric physiatrist, though - this makes sense if my son needs to

> have physical therapy in addition to the stretching I'm doing, but I

> sort of expected a referral to a neurologist since that's what I've

> heard/read most people receive a referral for...

>

> So my question is, has anyone been to a physiatrist instead of or in

> addition to a neurologist? If you have been to a physiatrist, did

> he/she refer you for imaging (CT/MRI), and then to a neuro? My son's

> head is very " high " in addition to the plagio, so he's only in the

> 10th percentile for head circumference...

>

> Thanks so much... this is all still very new to me!

>

July 26, 2008

My pediatrician referred us to a physical therapist first. My

insurance likes patients to try PT before being helmeted. Evan also

has torticollis, so that is the main reason for the PT.