craniofacial surgeon referral

[Guest guest]

The pediatrician said the parallelogram shape we saw on our 7-month-old was

natural until I printed plagio info from the web to show him. He then got us a

referral to a craniofacial surgeon, but that's dragging on due to paperwork

issues, " they forgot to fax this/that/etc. " I knew this would happen so we went

to Cranial Tech on our own, and they said it's classic plagio. We're paying the

$3K out of pocket because I don't want to wait anymore. However, do you think

it's still worth trying to see the craniofacial surgeon since I have a referral?

Part of me says yes, in case there is some complication that Cranial Tech didn't

see, but part of me wonders if it'll involve x-rays and other discomfort for

baby, along with confusion for the surgeon ( " why did you start treatment

already? " ), insurance ( " we're not paying for the surgeon consultation if you're

going outside of our standard procedure " ), and the pediatrician ( " why do you

still want to see the surgeon if you're going through Cranial Tech already? " ).

PS This group was a blessing to find, especially when the doc obviously hadn't

even heard of plagiocephaly; I felt so alone prior to " meeting " you people in

the same boat.

[Guest guest]

Do you have a prescription for the band? Because you do need one, and if the ped

hasn't written one for you, than you will need to see the surgeon. If you do

have one, I say skip the surgeon and just start treatment. However, this is

coming from a person who saw a neurosurgeon early on that said to save my money

and not band my son, then when he was 16 months old saw a cranio surgeon and I

had to break down in tears before he wrote the script. We saw him for one follow

up and then I cancelled our next appointment. I just didn't feel like dealing

with the arrogance anymore. So you really just have to do what you feel

comfortable with. Especially if insurance/cost is an issue, because we did need

a letter of medical necessity which the surgeon wrote for us without a problem.

Good luck!

Jake-3 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

>

> The pediatrician said the parallelogram shape we saw on our 7-month-old was

natural until I printed plagio info from the web to show him. He then got us a

referral to a craniofacial surgeon, but that's dragging on due to paperwork

issues, " they forgot to fax this/that/etc. " I knew this would happen so we went

to Cranial Tech on our own, and they said it's classic plagio. We're paying the

$3K out of pocket because I don't want to wait anymore. However, do you think

it's still worth trying to see the craniofacial surgeon since I have a referral?

Part of me says yes, in case there is some complication that Cranial Tech didn't

see, but part of me wonders if it'll involve x-rays and other discomfort for

baby, along with confusion for the surgeon ( " why did you start treatment

already? " ), insurance ( " we're not paying for the surgeon consultation if you're

going outside of our standard procedure " ), and the pediatrician ( " why do you

still want to see the surgeon if you're going through Cranial Tech already? " ).

> PS This group was a blessing to find, especially when the doc obviously hadn't

even heard of plagiocephaly; I felt so alone prior to " meeting " you people in

the same boat.

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Do you have a prescription for the band? Because you do need one, and if the

ped hasn't written one for you, than you will need to see the surgeon.

Sorry about my previous post; I did not know that. I thought someone could get

a band for even the mildest of imperfections, just because, say, they have

aspirations for their child to launch a thousand ships. :-)

So, if someone goes for an evaluation at Cranial Tech, their opinion just

informs the parent, who then still has to convince the physician? That sucks!

--

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara, age 18 months, in STARband since 8/10

[Guest guest]

Yes, that is correct. However, it's not just Cranial Tech that requires a

script. A helmet of any kind is considered a medical device (even though so many

insurance companies claim its only cosmetic) and requires a script. I looked

into getting my son a STARBand as well and they would have needed one also.

Did you not need one to get a band for your daughter? I would find that very

odd. I have been on this board for nearly 2 years and never heard of anyone

receiving a band without a script.

Jake-3 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

Jordan-5

> >

> > Do you have a prescription for the band? Because you do need one, and if the

ped hasn't written one for you, than you will need to see the surgeon.

>

> Sorry about my previous post; I did not know that. I thought someone could

get a band for even the mildest of imperfections, just because, say, they have

aspirations for their child to launch a thousand ships. :-)

>

> So, if someone goes for an evaluation at Cranial Tech, their opinion just

informs the parent, who then still has to convince the physician? That sucks!

>

> --

> Thad Launderville

> Montpelier, VT

> Clara, age 18 months, in STARband since 8/10

>