Re: 1 year update

[Guest guest]

Dawn,

Those numbers are so encouraging. My daughter was a little older when she graduated, but her number of 92.2 was also higher than I'd like. so, we've been hoping for more improvement and adding in CST and chiro to encourage it. Her head growth is much slower and she may have had a spurt before we started the CST and chiro. I just recently had hand measurements done that showed that her minimal assymetry was basically gone (down to 1.5 mm) and he brachy had improved from 91.3 to 86.9. Unfortunately, they were hand measurements and I'm not sure whether I really believe that she had that much improvement in 3 months time. Part of what makes it hard to believe it that the measurements showed that her head width had decreased by 6 mm, but she didn't get any longer. So, I'm considering going back to get another scan done, but I think I'll be heart broken if it shows no change. Plus, our ortho told us when she graduated at almost 21 months that her sutures were closed so there would be no more change possible. So, I'm not sure what she'd think if i called up and asked for an appointment. Does your ortho normally do follow up scans or is that something that you asked for?

melanie, mom to , 26.5 months

STARband grad May 2009

Chiro and CST

land

1 year update

I would like to share my son's numbers with all of you. They might be helpful to others and I was pleasantly surprised when I got them today. 2-10-09First scan with HangerCircum 433mmCVA 12mmCI 96%4-21-09Final Scan with Hanger (after 6 weeks in band)Circum 456 CVA 1mmCI 91%11-3-09Follow-up/Post Treatment Scan with Hanger (6mo after band, natural growth)Circum 484 CVA 2mmCI 85%Jake was just over 4mo old when we banded him and his plagio was resolved very quickly. It has now been over 6mo since since we stopped using the band. So I took him back to Hanger to find out where his numbers are now. He has grown a lot but Im so happy to see that his CI dropped so much. I had read that this can happen with natural growth and it appears that it did. Dawn (mom to Jake, 12mo old, plagio, tort, brachy, Hanger grad)Living in Connecticut

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Do you think her sutures were closed at 21 months?  That seems on the

early side and wasn't born a few weeks early?  Why did the

ortho think they were closed?  Did your alternative practitioners think

the sutures were closed when you started treatment with them?

I'm scared of 's sutures closing.  As of a couple weeks ago, he

still had a tiny soft spot left.  I wonder how long after the soft spot

closes completely it usually takes for the sutures to close.

-Kathy, mom to , 17 months, 5 months in Starband

wrote:

 

Dawn,

 

Those numbers are so encouraging. My daughter was a little older

when she graduated, but her number of 92.2 was also higher than I'd

like. so, we've been hoping for more improvement and adding in CST and

chiro to encourage it. Her head growth is much slower and she may have

had a spurt before we started the CST and chiro. I just recently had

hand measurements done that showed that her minimal assymetry was

basically gone (down to 1.5 mm) and he brachy had improved from 91.3 to

86.9. Unfortunately, they were hand measurements and I'm not sure

whether I really believe that she had that much improvement in 3 months

time. Part of what makes it hard to believe it that the measurements

showed that her head width had decreased by 6 mm, but she didn't get

any longer. So, I'm considering going back to get another scan done,

but I think I'll be heart broken if it shows no change. Plus, our ortho

told us when she graduated at almost 21 months that her sutures were

closed so there would be no more change possible. So, I'm not sure what

she'd think if i called up and asked for an appointment. Does your

ortho normally do follow up scans or is that something that you asked

for?

 

melanie, mom to , 26.5 months

STARband grad May 2009

Chiro and CST

land

       

 

1 year update

 

I would like to share my son's numbers with all of you. They might

be helpful to others and I was pleasantly surprised when I got them

today.

2-10-09

First scan with Hanger

Circum 433mm

CVA 12mm

CI 96%

4-21-09

Final Scan with Hanger (after 6 weeks in band)

Circum 456

CVA 1mm

CI 91%

11-3-09

Follow-up/Post Treatment Scan with Hanger (6mo after band, natural

growth)

Circum 484

CVA 2mm

CI 85%

Jake was just over 4mo old when we banded him and his plagio was

resolved very quickly. It has now been over 6mo since since we stopped

using the band. So I took him back to Hanger to find out where his

numbers are now. He has grown a lot but Im so happy to see that his CI

dropped so much. I had read that this can happen with natural growth

and it appears that it did.

Dawn (mom to Jake, 12mo old, plagio, tort, brachy, Hanger grad)

Living in Connecticut

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

My ortho believes that all baby's sutures start closing around 18 months. I've seen this written on the Hanger website as well. From what I've heard elsewhere, our sutures don't completely close until we approach our adulthood. Our soft spot closes and the sutures partially close around 18 to 24 months of age, but there is still room for movement for a few years. One of the theories behind CST is that there can always be movement with the sutures. I believe that part of the reason that helmets are recommended past this age is because the skull thickens and growth slows down. Both of these limit how fast and how much change can occur.

When I contacted the cranial doctor about wanting more improvement in 's head, she recommended that we go back to the CST. She said that there could still be a lot of change using CST at 's age (which was 22 months at the time). The beauty of CST is that it does not depend upon growth to produce change. I'm sure that change is slower as the skull thickens and the soft spots are gone, but my understanding is that things can move around without the head actually growing.

was born about 3 weeks early and she was tiny (5 pounds 5 ounces). Her head was also below the 1st percentile and the largest it has ever measured is the 7th percentile. Our neurosurgeon told us that the soft spots close early for small heads and that's why 's were nearly closed at one year. He found no evidence that there was early suture closing. Our pediatirican sent us to the neurosurgeon because of the combination of small head and flat head. She wanted to rule out anything to be worried about. He said that she is generally a small child (she was 18 pounds at a year and 23.5 pounds at 2 years) and so there was nothing to worry about. In the meantime, she still fits into 6 to 12 months sizes of hats. She wore a newborn hat until 9 months.

The chiro and CST therapist have not said anything about her sutures being closed. My CST therapist says that there is still possible change for a few years to come. We've never directly discussed the sutures.

As far as the soft spot and sutures - one of 's soft spots (front I think) was already closed at her 12 month appointment (hence the neurosurgeon referral). The other one was barely open. So, her soft spots were definately closed when she got the helmet at 14.5 months. She also clearly had improvement in her helmet so I'm not sure what that says about the sutures, if anything.

1 year update

I would like to share my son's numbers with all of you. They might be helpful to others and I was pleasantly surprised when I got them today. 2-10-09First scan with HangerCircum 433mmCVA 12mmCI 96%4-21-09Final Scan with Hanger (after 6 weeks in band)Circum 456 CVA 1mmCI 91%11-3-09Follow-up/Post Treatment Scan with Hanger (6mo after band, natural growth)Circum 484 CVA 2mmCI 85%Jake was just over 4mo old when we banded him and his plagio was resolved very quickly. It has now been over 6mo since since we stopped using the band. So I took him back to Hanger to find out where his numbers are now. He has grown a lot but Im so happy to see that his CI dropped so much. I had read that this can happen with natural growth and it appears that it did. Dawn (mom to Jake, 12mo old, plagio, tort, brachy, Hanger grad)Living in Connecticut

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Oh, I didn't realize they started closing at 18 months.  I thought it

was closer to 24 months.  I hope there is a lot of variance in this. 

Is there?  is almost 18 months and there is still a fairly

noticeable flat spot from the plagio.  I'm starting to feel panicked. 

The flat spot is still improving and I thought there was more time for

improvement before the sutures started closing.  If it is sooner than I

thought, that is not good.  It sounds like things can still move around

and grow after age 2.  Do you think a flat area on the back right could

still improve after the sutures close?  Or are we stuck with that? 

Also, the right ear is still anterior and I was going to ask the chiro

if it is possible to move the head around to help push the ear back. 

Would moving the temporal bone back help with the ear?  I'm starting to

get anxious and depressed again.

Thanks,

Kathy, mom to 17.5 months, 5.5 months in Starband

wrote:

 

Hi Kathy,

 

My ortho believes that all baby's sutures start closing around 18

months. I've seen this written on the Hanger website as well.  From

what I've heard elsewhere, our sutures don't completely close until we

approach our adulthood. Our soft spot closes and the sutures partially

close around 18 to 24 months of age, but there is still room for

movement for a few years. One of the theories behind CST is that there

can always be movement with the sutures. I believe that part of the

reason that helmets are recommended past this age is because the skull

thickens and growth slows down. Both of these limit how fast and how

much change can occur.

 

When I contacted the cranial doctor about wanting more improvement

in 's head, she recommended that we go back to the CST. She said

that there could still be a lot of change using CST at 's age

(which was 22 months at the time).  The beauty of CST is that it does

not depend upon growth to produce change. I'm sure that change is

slower as the skull thickens and the soft spots are gone, but my

understanding is that things can move around without the head actually

growing.

 

was born about 3 weeks early and she was tiny (5 pounds 5

ounces). Her head was also below the 1st percentile and the largest it

has ever measured is the 7th percentile. Our neurosurgeon told us that

the soft spots close early for small heads and that's why 's

were nearly closed at one year. He found no evidence that there was

early suture closing. Our pediatirican sent us to the neurosurgeon

because of the combination of small head and flat head. She wanted to

rule out anything to be worried about. He said that she is generally a

small child (she was 18 pounds at a year and 23.5 pounds at 2 years)

and so there was nothing to worry about. In the meantime, she still

fits into 6 to 12 months sizes of hats. She wore a newborn hat until 9

months.

 

The chiro and CST therapist have not said anything about her

sutures being closed. My CST therapist says that there is still

possible change for a few years to come. We've never directly discussed

the sutures.

As far as the soft spot and sutures - one of 's soft spots

(front I think) was already closed at her 12 month appointment (hence

the neurosurgeon referral). The other one was barely open. So, her soft

spots were definately closed when she got the helmet at 14.5 months.

She also clearly had improvement in her helmet so I'm not sure what

that says about the sutures, if anything.

       

 

1 year update

 

I would like to share my son's numbers with all of you. They

might be helpful to others and I was pleasantly surprised when I got

them today.

2-10-09

First scan with Hanger

Circum 433mm

CVA 12mm

CI 96%

4-21-09

Final Scan with Hanger (after 6 weeks in band)

Circum 456

CVA 1mm

CI 91%

11-3-09

Follow-up/Post Treatment Scan with Hanger (6mo after band, natural

growth)

Circum 484

CVA 2mm

CI 85%

Jake was just over 4mo old when we banded him and his plagio was

resolved very quickly. It has now been over 6mo since since we stopped

using the band. So I took him back to Hanger to find out where his

numbers are now. He has grown a lot but Im so happy to see that his CI

dropped so much. I had read that this can happen with natural growth

and it appears that it did.

Dawn (mom to Jake, 12mo old, plagio, tort, brachy, Hanger grad)

Living in Connecticut

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

I don't really know the answers regarding the sutures. The 18 months is what the Hanger site said and what my ortho believes.

I just found a link that says that they begin to close at age 2. It doesn't say that they are closed by then so I believe that there is even more time after this. I don't know how long it takes for them to be completely closed. So, it seems that both Hanger and my ortho are wrong about this. This also explains why CT will band to 24 months even though it's only FDA approved to 18 months. (I'm guessing that the reason the FDA approval didn't go beyond 18 months is that the effectiveness rate didn't meet their standards for an effective treatment. Either that, or they didn't have enough patients in that age group for the FDA to consider it. Who knows?) Given the anectodal comments about improvement in 3 and 4 year olds on the older plagio group, I'm guessing that it takes at least a few years for them to be fully closed. I have read somewhere that they don't completely close ever. somewhere else, I read that they don't completely close until we reach adulthood. I don't know the real answer.

1 year update

I would like to share my son's numbers with all of you. They might be helpful to others and I was pleasantly surprised when I got them today. 2-10-09First scan with HangerCircum 433mmCVA 12mmCI 96%4-21-09Final Scan with Hanger (after 6 weeks in band)Circum 456 CVA 1mmCI 91%11-3-09Follow-up/Post Treatment Scan with Hanger (6mo after band, natural growth)Circum 484 CVA 2mmCI 85%Jake was just over 4mo old when we banded him and his plagio was resolved very quickly. It has now been over 6mo since since we stopped using the band. So I took him back to Hanger to find out where his numbers are now. He has grown a lot but Im so happy to see that his CI dropped so much. I had read that this can happen with natural growth and it appears that it did. Dawn (mom to Jake, 12mo old, plagio, tort, brachy, Hanger grad)Living in Connecticut

[Guest guest]

,

No, it's not normal procedure for them to do a follow up. I asked for it, but

they were more than happy to do it and did not charge me. I was nervous about

the results too, I was expecting little or no change, even so I wanted to do it,

I needed to know.

Dawn

>

>

>

>

> Dawn,

>

>

>

> Those numbers are so encouraging. My daughter was a little older when she

graduated, but her number of 92.2 was also higher than I'd like. so, we've been

hoping for more improvement and adding in CST and chiro to encourage it. Her

head growth is much slower and she may have had a spurt before we started the

CST and chiro. I just recently had hand measurements done that showed that her

minimal assymetry was basically gone (down to 1.5 mm) and he brachy had improved

from 91.3 to 86.9. Unfortunately, they were hand measurements and I'm not sure

whether I really believe that she had that much improvement in 3 months time.

Part of what makes it hard to believe it that the measurements showed that her

head width had decreased by 6 mm, but she didn't get any longer. So, I'm

considering going back to get another scan done, but I think I'll be heart

broken if it shows no change. Plus, our ortho told us when she graduated at

almost 21 months that her sutures were closed so there would be no more change

possible. So, I'm not sure what she'd think if i called up and asked for an

appointment. Does your ortho normally do follow up scans or is that something

that you asked for?

>

>

>

> melanie, mom to , 26.5 months

>

> STARband grad May 2009

>

> Chiro and CST

>

> land

>

>

>

>

> Ticker id: IvP3   Ticker id: yZZP     Ticker id: lFno

>

>

>

> 1 year update

>

>  

>

>

>

>

> I would like to share my son's numbers with all of you. They might be helpful

to others and I was pleasantly surprised when I got them today.

>

> 2-10-09

> First scan with Hanger

> Circum 433mm

> CVA 12mm

> CI 96%

>

> 4-21-09

> Final Scan with Hanger (after 6 weeks in band)

> Circum 456

> CVA 1mm

> CI 91%

>

> 11-3-09

> Follow-up/Post Treatment Scan with Hanger (6mo after band, natural growth)

> Circum 484

> CVA 2mm

> CI 85%

>

> Jake was just over 4mo old when we banded him and his plagio was resolved very

quickly. It has now been over 6mo since since we stopped using the band. So I

took him back to Hanger to find out where his numbers are now. He has grown a

lot but Im so happy to see that his CI dropped so much. I had read that this can

happen with natural growth and it appears that it did.

>

> Dawn (mom to Jake, 12mo old, plagio, tort, brachy, Hanger grad)

> Living in Connecticut

>