Re: Re: 's latest scan

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Thanks!

Yes, I have seen Jake's pictures and I agree his forehead was much

worse. I also saw it improved a lot, but is still there a little.

I guess what I'm worried about is why the helmet is not helping 's

forehead at all, when I think it should help some. ly, I'm scared

it could almost be making it worse, but probably it is staying the

same. I see the bulge, but agree it is very mild. I'm worried too

that when the baby fat goes away, it will show up more. Does this

happen? Also, the left eye is slightly smaller than the right, and I'm

thinking improving the forehead will help here. Visually the helmet is

helping the back right, which is by far 's worse area, but the

asymmetry is not dropping and I'm wondering if the forehead may be

partially why the symmetry number has stayed around 6mm for 3.5 months

(5-6mm at level 3; and 6-7mm at level 5). Even a drop to 4mm would

probably do the trick. We estimate 's big brother has 4-5mm

asymmetry and he looks great. It seems 's head is stuck just above

some threshold where it bothers me, so I'm trying to figure out what we

can do before it is too late.

Thanks so much for looking at the scans.

Kathy, mom to 16 months

nwilkens2275 wrote:

Let me first preface this by saying that I am not an expert on

StarScan reports at all. My son wore 2 DOCBands, so I really don't get

what level 3, level 5, etc is all about. But I have to say that I think

your son's head looks really good. I don't see anything really wrong

with his forehead and I have a very sensitive eye for the forehead.

Just to be perfectly honest, if my son's head looked like yours, I

would be thrilled. He had severe forehead bossing and yet we were told

over and over that it would round out on it's own. It was his forehead

alone (and yet his flat spot was bad too) that prompted me to pursue

banding at the late age of 16-17 months. We saw significant improvement

in his forehead and yet he still has some bossing and I am occasionally

still bothered by it. And his flat spot is still visible to me, though

no one else notices it.

Maybe your son looks different in person, maybe the scan is not showing

his forehead the way you are seeing it, maybe I'm just looking at it

wrong, but I personally don't see the forehead as a problem. And maybe

that's because my son's forehead was so severe (I really don't feel I'm

exaggerating it, you can see his pictures under Jake W. in the Older

Plagio Kids folder). Having said all that, he is your son and not mine.

So you need to do whatever you feel is necessary. This is just one

mom's opinion. Take it for what it's worth.

Jake-3 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

>

> All,

> I'm attaching 's latest scan (level 3 and level 5). We're

worried about

> the forehead growth, especially on the right side. But, it could

be error

> or swelling. The level 5 scan showed flattening in the back but

that was

> definitely an error, probably his head was pressed against the

scanner.

>

> The brachia index went down, but the asymmetry actually went up at

level 3.

> Any advice or suggestions on how to proceed?

>

> (on behalf of Kathy)

> Parents of (16mo, in Starband 4 mos)

>

[Guest guest]

and Kathy,

,

Level 3 refers to the area where the circumferance measurement is taken. Level five is further up on the head. I've attached 's scan and there's a reference to the levels on the top right side of the scan.

Kathy and ,

I have to agree with that I think 's head looks great. Okay, I see very small asymmetries at level 5, but I don't really see anything at all at level 3. Maybe I'm just used to looking for brachy that I can't spot mild plagio, but his head looks extremely mild to me.

I've attached 's scan to give you a comparison. It compares her beginning and ending scans. You can clearly see where there is a flat area at the back of the head on her scan. It is this flat area that has been bothering me for the last few months. You can also see that her head looks a little like a triangle - less so than when we first started, but it is still there. That's the brachy. It's the flat spot that I keep hoping will round out a little. It's not even so much her width because her head is small compared to her peers and so it doesn't look any wider from the front - it just looks shorter from the side. To be honest, the only times I really see her problem is either from the back or top or her head.

In terms of how to proceed - what makes you believe that the helmet is making things worse? Do you believe that the head would respond better to the other treatments if it was out of the helmet? Personally, I think I would leave him in it for another couple of months to see what it does. Then, relook at the decision. I wouldn't want to miss my opportunity for getting improvement from the band. Now, if the next scan shows that it definately is getting worse, then I might take him out. Of course, with no option of a Doc band, you'd be looking at either asking for another STARband or just trusting in the alternative treatments alone. One question to ask is why CT felt that wouldn't be able to get the band right. Do you think that's what happened with the STARband.

As you know, we are doing both CST and chiro for , but if she were 's age, we'd have her in a band also. I really wish that there was some concrete evidence of improvement using these other methods. Actually, our cranial doctor did tell me that there was research on the effectiveness of CST in addressing both plagio and brachy so that's why we initially went ahead with that at the same time as the helmet. She didn't know anything about the chiro.

So, I'm thinking that I probably haven't said anything that's helped, but I thought I'd at least let you know how great his head looks in the scans. I'm actually quite jealous.

Re: 's latest scan

Let me first preface this by saying that I am not an expert on StarScan reports at all. My son wore 2 DOCBands, so I really don't get what level 3, level 5, etc is all about. But I have to say that I think your son's head looks really good. I don't see anything really wrong with his forehead and I have a very sensitive eye for the forehead. Just to be perfectly honest, if my son's head looked like yours, I would be thrilled. He had severe forehead bossing and yet we were told over and over that it would round out on it's own. It was his forehead alone (and yet his flat spot was bad too) that prompted me to pursue banding at the late age of 16-17 months. We saw significant improvement in his forehead and yet he still has some bossing and I am occasionally still bothered by it. And his flat spot is still visible to me, though no one else notices it. Maybe your son looks different in person, maybe the scan is not showing his forehead the way you are seeing it, maybe I'm just looking at it wrong, but I personally don't see the forehead as a problem. And maybe that's because my son's forehead was so severe (I really don't feel I'm exaggerating it, you can see his pictures under Jake W. in the Older Plagio Kids folder). Having said all that, he is your son and not mine. So you need to do whatever you feel is necessary. This is just one mom's opinion. Take it for what it's worth.Jake-3 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)>> All,> I'm attaching 's latest scan (level 3 and level 5). We're worried about> the forehead growth, especially on the right side. But, it could be error> or swelling. The level 5 scan showed flattening in the back but that was> definitely an error, probably his head was pressed against the scanner.> > The brachia index went down, but the asymmetry actually went up at level 3.> Any advice or suggestions on how to proceed?> > (on behalf of Kathy)> Parents of (16mo, in Starband 4 mos)>

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