Guest guest Posted July 5, 2010 Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 My son had a very prominent ridge on his coronal suture before treatment, enough so that the neurosurgeon couldn't tell if it was a ridge from the plates pressing together or a fused suture until he looked at a CT scan. He apparently can usually tell if a case is plagiocephaly or craniosynostosis by just eyeing/feeling the head, but not in our case. It wasn't a fused suture obviously or we wouldn't be on here talking about his band. Anyway... in our case the ridge improved with his DOC band and is still quite prominent but somewhat smoothed out. The clinician told us that it's pretty much as good as it will get even though we aren't done with treatment. I guess it's hard to correct a really prominent ridge. To answer your question, I would be a little worried, too. I think it's odd for a ridge to form after starting a band. Have you been to a neurosurgeon to confirm the plagio diagnosis and rule out craniosynostosis? If you have already, you just need to figure out if the fit of the band is correct. If you haven't been to a neurosurgeon and had a CT scan done, I think it's worth asking for a referral to a neurosurgeon who can take a look at the suture just to be safe. > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 5, 2010 Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 That is interesting that you were told this. I was told by the person we consulted with at CT that is was perfectly normal for it to occur with a band unless the baby was very young when banded. That is why many babies have bumps on their head even after they graduate. Maybe we are talkiing about something different when we say a ridge. I didn't use that term when I asked, but I did ask about my daughter's bumps at the back of her head and was told this. Her bumps are along the suture lines and the tech at CT didn't seem worried about cranio. From: stephaniebilliel <SBilliel@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Mon, July 5, 2010 9:34:38 PMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures My son had a very prominent ridge on his coronal suture before treatment, enough so that the neurosurgeon couldn't tell if it was a ridge from the plates pressing together or a fused suture until he looked at a CT scan. He apparently can usually tell if a case is plagiocephaly or craniosynostosis by just eyeing/feeling the head, but not in our case. It wasn't a fused suture obviously or we wouldn't be on here talking about his band. Anyway... in our case the ridge improved with his DOC band and is still quite prominent but somewhat smoothed out. The clinician told us that it's pretty much as good as it will get even though we aren't done with treatment. I guess it's hard to correct a really prominent ridge.To answer your question, I would be a little worried, too. I think it's odd for a ridge to form after starting a band. Have you been to a neurosurgeon to confirm the plagio diagnosis and rule out craniosynostosis? If you have already, you just need to figure out if the fit of the band is correct. If you haven't been to a neurosurgeon and had a CT scan done, I think it's worth asking for a referral to a neurosurgeon who can take a look at the suture just to be safe.>> Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 We are talking about two different things. My son also had ridges along the edges of the helmet that I was told were caused by the helmet pushing on the soft tissue and should go away. What I'm talking about is a different issue. My son has a ridge along his suture line that's not along the edge of his helmet. It was there before he got his band and was caused by molding in the uterus and plagio forcing the plates of his skull together. The band helped reduce it somewhat, but it cannot be fully corrected. It can be hard in certain cases to distinguish this kind of ridge from cranio, which is why my son had to be checked by a neurosurgeon. Hope that clarifies. > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 's ridge is along his suture and was there before the helmet. These emails are bringing back some thoughts that really concern me. 's pediatrician missed his plagio, and it seems many pediatricians do. Is not that extremely dangerous? It seems if they are not checking heads enough to notice plagio and an associated ridge, they could also easily miss cranio. -Kathy, mom to 25 months stephaniebilliel wrote: We are talking about two different things. My son also had ridges along the edges of the helmet that I was told were caused by the helmet pushing on the soft tissue and should go away. What I'm talking about is a different issue. My son has a ridge along his suture line that's not along the edge of his helmet. It was there before he got his band and was caused by molding in the uterus and plagio forcing the plates of his skull together. The band helped reduce it somewhat, but it cannot be fully corrected. It can be hard in certain cases to distinguish this kind of ridge from cranio, which is why my son had to be checked by a neurosurgeon. Hope that clarifies. > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Is it on the side that the band has a gap, where the velcro straps are? My son is outgrowing his DOC band, and he has a place where it sticks out like that too. It worried me also, but the technician assured me it was ok, and that it happens to a lot of babies. I wasn't too excited to know that that would be permanent, but I would take that little bump over his head being flat anyday. :-) I hope this eases your mind!! > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 That ridge between the velcro, which is just fluid buildup, should go away once he graduates from his band for good. My son had the same thing and it eventually went away. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to about 2 months, but it should definitely recede. Jake-3.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08) Raleigh, NC > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 , Did your CT tech tell you that the bump where the velcro strap is would be permanent? Most of the posts here have said it's temporary. My son has the same bump, but we were told it would eventually go away. I'm a little concerned now..... > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 My tech told me any ridges/bumps along the edges of the helmet would go away unless I was truly pulling the helmet tight and putting it on incorrectly. I'm curious what the graduates have to say though. Tell us the truth! Does it go away? Even if it doesn't go away completely, I have to agree with everyone that a bump/ridge is better than a crooked head. > > > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Well she said that it wouldn't ever completely go away.... but its not a very big bump, so I wasn't too concerned. And it is very minimal compared to how his head looked before, and in a place that isn't as noticeable. Don't get me wrong though, if it went away that would be even better!! Were you, like the others, told it would go away with time? On Jul 8, 2010 7:15 PM, " kpetersb " <kpetersb@...> wrote: Â , Did your CT tech tell you that the bump where the velcro strap is would be permanent? Most of the posts here have said it's temporary. My son has the same bump, but we were told it would eventually go away. I'm a little concerned now..... >> Is it on the side that the band has a gap, where the velcro straps are? My son is outgrowing his D... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 I have a friend of a friend whose son's first ped missed cranio and this was true. The head just got worse and was shaped different than a regular plagio head. Luckily, her first ped retired and the second one caught it. He had surgery at about 15 months. My daughter's head was examined by a neuro who did not feel any concern for cranio, yet she has a ridge that appeared after her head started to round out from both the CST and the helmet. It is along that suture that divides the back top and bottom of the head. Along with the ridge came rounding at the bottom half of her head. We had less rounding at the top, but again, I was told that this is often the last place to correct. Think about it - the head has to round out somehow. In cases of older babies, the skull has hardened so the first place to budge at all is going to be along the suture line since they are not yet fused. The lack of flexibility of the skull results in the bumps that are often present after the band. My daughter's ridge is a bump on her suture line. I think it is worse the older the baby is when banded. For a while, this bothered me, but it makes total sense. And, it is not visible to the naked eye so no one notices unless they rub their head along the back of my daughter's head. It's like once you hurt your knee, it is never totally back to normal (I can attest to this after 3 rounds of PT). Or, once you've had a heart attack, your heart has been damaged. Our bodies can repair themselves to some degree, but there are limits. Once our babies have a flat head, it isn't reasonable to expect that the head will ever be exactly like the neighbor's baby (who never had a flat head). The experts are doing what they can to restore function and appearance, but we have to expect there to be some side effects. I think that with older babies, a side effect of correction is the appearance of ridges and/or bumps in the head. Younger babies have softer skulls so it seems possible that they may escape this side effect to some degree. From: stephaniebilliel <SBilliel@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Thu, July 8, 2010 10:50:00 PMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures Kathy - I think you bring up a good point that pedi's might also miss cranio, but it couldn't be for long. Cranio gets progressively worse as the baby's head grows. I have heard of some stories of kids with cranio initially being missed when the parents first raise their concerns, but it eventually got obvious. > > > >> > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks > > (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been > > good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I > > notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates > > which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing > > a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight?> > > >> > > > > > > >> > >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 The ridge along the velcro is fluid build up so it does go away. It did with my daughter. From: stephaniebilliel <SBilliel@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Thu, July 8, 2010 10:45:45 PMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures My tech told me any ridges/bumps along the edges of the helmet would go away unless I was truly pulling the helmet tight and putting it on incorrectly. I'm curious what the graduates have to say though. Tell us the truth! Does it go away? Even if it doesn't go away completely, I have to agree with everyone that a bump/ridge is better than a crooked head. > > >> > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Hi, Maybe, is lucky in that the helmet didn't cause ridges or bumps that I know of. Hopefully, it didn't. It sounds like 's ridge is horizontal. 's is vertical, so they must be in a different spot. Maybe, this is because was a couple months younger when we started the helmet. The plagio may have caused 's ridging, or maybe the ridging caused the plagio. 's ridging may have been from birth, and then it got worse. 's ortho just told my husband that a lot of babies have ridging and that it is more visible on wider heads. I still find this extremely disturbing that pediatricians are not checking heads more carefully. The fact that it could be cranio and not just plagio makes this even more worrisome to me. I'm really glad that if it is cranio, at least it will eventually be caught. Some good news. 's new pediatrician said his head looks fabulous, and the ortho said similar things to my husband. The pediatrician could see a little upon examination, but she commented more on how his hair growth had been affected than the remaining head asymmetry. She was extremely sensitive and aware of plagio. (Actually, 's primary pediatrician was sick, but she was his alternate.) I'm not as happy as I would be because the better gets, the more I realize my other son has some plagio. Last year, my older son's head looked so great in comparison to 's, that it didn't bother me much. At least I should be thankful that 's head improved that much and I think it may improve a little more. Best, Kathy wrote:  I have a friend of a friend whose son's first ped missed cranio and this was true. The head just got worse and was shaped different than a regular plagio head. Luckily, her first ped retired and the second one caught it. He had surgery at about 15 months.  My daughter's head was examined by a neuro who did not feel any concern for cranio, yet she has a ridge that appeared after her head started to round out from both the CST and the helmet. It is along that suture that divides the back top and bottom of the head. Along with the ridge came rounding at the bottom half of her head. We had less rounding at the top, but again, I was told that this is often the last place to correct.  Think about it - the head has to round out somehow. In cases of older babies, the skull has hardened so the first place to budge at all is going to be along the suture line since they are not yet fused. The lack of flexibility of the skull results in the bumps that are often present after the band. My daughter's ridge is a bump on her suture line. I think it is worse the older the baby is when banded. For a while, this bothered me, but it makes total sense. And, it is not visible to the naked eye so no one notices unless they rub their head along the back of my daughter's head.  It's like once you hurt your knee, it is never totally back to normal (I can attest to this after 3 rounds of PT). Or, once you've had a heart attack, your heart has been damaged. Our bodies can repair themselves to some degree, but there are limits. Once our babies have a flat head, it isn't reasonable to expect that the head will ever be exactly like the neighbor's baby (who never had a flat head). The experts are doing what they can to restore function and appearance, but we have to expect there to be some side effects. I think that with older babies, a side effect of correction is the appearance of ridges and/or bumps in the head. Younger babies have softer skulls so it seems possible that they may escape this side effect to some degree.  From: stephaniebilliel <SBillielcomcast (DOT) net> Plagiocephaly Sent: Thu, July 8, 2010 10:50:00 PM Subject: Re: Ridge on Sutures  Kathy - I think you bring up a good point that pedi's might also miss cranio, but it couldn't be for long. Cranio gets progressively worse as the baby's head grows. I have heard of some stories of kids with cranio initially being missed when the parents first raise their concerns, but it eventually got obvious. > > > > > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks > > (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been > > good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I > > notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates > > which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing > > a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 If the suture plates are overlapping, he is a prime candidate for either CST or osteopathy. I don't think that a helmet would correct this. You need the skills of someone who knows how to get them to stop overlapping. Gentle manipulation of the skull would do it. From: stephaniebilliel <SBilliel@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Wed, July 7, 2010 1:19:46 PMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures We are talking about two different things. My son also had ridges along the edges of the helmet that I was told were caused by the helmet pushing on the soft tissue and should go away. What I'm talking about is a different issue. My son has a ridge along his suture line that's not along the edge of his helmet. It was there before he got his band and was caused by molding in the uterus and plagio forcing the plates of his skull together. The band helped reduce it somewhat, but it cannot be fully corrected. It can be hard in certain cases to distinguish this kind of ridge from cranio, which is why my son had to be checked by a neurosurgeon. Hope that clarifies. > >> > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Yes, I agree. I believe this is why responds to the alternative therapies so well. Although they have not completely resolved the ridging, they help. -Kathy wrote:  If the suture plates are overlapping, he is a prime candidate for either CST or osteopathy. I don't think that a helmet would correct this. You need the skills of someone who knows how to get them to stop overlapping. Gentle manipulation of the skull would do it. From: stephaniebilliel <SBillielcomcast (DOT) net> Plagiocephaly Sent: Wed, July 7, 2010 1:19:46 PM Subject: Re: Ridge on Sutures  We are talking about two different things. My son also had ridges along the edges of the helmet that I was told were caused by the helmet pushing on the soft tissue and should go away. What I'm talking about is a different issue. My son has a ridge along his suture line that's not along the edge of his helmet. It was there before he got his band and was caused by molding in the uterus and plagio forcing the plates of his skull together. The band helped reduce it somewhat, but it cannot be fully corrected. It can be hard in certain cases to distinguish this kind of ridge from cranio, which is why my son had to be checked by a neurosurgeon. Hope that clarifies. > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Yes, 's ridge is horizontal, but it is clear that the plates are not overlapping. If it didn't know that it was along the suture line (from a model shown by our CST therapist), I probably would just think of it as a horizonatal bump. Like I said, the CST is what started the ridge so I see it more as 's head's attempt to provide some more rounding. And, it worked. Who knows - it may have also been related to the fact that one soft spot was already closed and the other one was almost closed due to the small size of her head. Before, when her head was flat, there were no funny bumps or ridges so maybe cases of brachy are different in this way. I can see where ridges might be created more by plagio since the assymetry factor may complicate things. And, it also makes total sense that plates can overlap before or during birth. But, as others have said, I'll take this bump anyday over what we had before. And,. I do think that if had been younger, it wouldn't be there. She also still has a swollen lymph node that started after she was banded. The ortho thought it was connected, but it popped up during a severe ear infection (ear drum burst) and the ped thinks that it would have popped up anyway. She said that as long as there aren't a bunch of them and it doesn't increase in size, there is nothing to worry about. From: Kathy Lora Jensen <kathylorajensen@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Fri, July 9, 2010 11:31:33 AMSubject: Re: Re: Ridge on Sutures Hi,Maybe, is lucky in that the helmet didn't cause ridges or bumps that I know of. Hopefully, it didn't. It sounds like 's ridge is horizontal. 's is vertical, so they must be in a different spot. Maybe, this is because was a couple months younger when we started the helmet. The plagio may have caused 's ridging, or maybe the ridging caused the plagio. 's ridging may have been from birth, and then it got worse. 's ortho just told my husband that a lot of babies have ridging and that it is more visible on wider heads. I still find this extremely disturbing that pediatricians are not checking heads more carefully. The fact that it could be cranio and not just plagio makes this even more worrisome to me. I'm really glad that if it is cranio, at least it will eventually be caught.Some good news. 's new pediatrician said his head looks fabulous, and the ortho said similar things to my husband. The pediatrician could see a little upon examination, but she commented more on how his hair growth had been affected than the remaining head asymmetry. She was extremely sensitive and aware of plagio. (Actually, 's primary pediatrician was sick, but she was his alternate.) I'm not as happy as I would be because the better gets, the more I realize my other son has some plagio. Last year, my older son's head looked so great in comparison to 's, that it didn't bother me much. At least I should be thankful that 's head improved that much and I think it may improve a little more.Best,Kathy wrote: I have a friend of a friend whose son's first ped missed cranio and this was true. The head just got worse and was shaped different than a regular plagio head. Luckily, her first ped retired and the second one caught it. He had surgery at about 15 months. My daughter's head was examined by a neuro who did not feel any concern for cranio, yet she has a ridge that appeared after her head started to round out from both the CST and the helmet. It is along that suture that divides the back top and bottom of the head. Along with the ridge came rounding at the bottom half of her head. We had less rounding at the top, but again, I was told that this is often the last place to correct. Think about it - the head has to round out somehow. In cases of older babies, the skull has hardened so the first place to budge at all is going to be along the suture line since they are not yet fused. The lack of flexibility of the skull results in the bumps that are often present after the band. My daughter's ridge is a bump on her suture line. I think it is worse the older the baby is when banded. For a while, this bothered me, but it makes total sense. And, it is not visible to the naked eye so no one notices unless they rub their head along the back of my daughter's head. It's like once you hurt your knee, it is never totally back to normal (I can attest to this after 3 rounds of PT). Or, once you've had a heart attack, your heart has been damaged. Our bodies can repair themselves to some degree, but there are limits. Once our babies have a flat head, it isn't reasonable to expect that the head will ever be exactly like the neighbor's baby (who never had a flat head). The experts are doing what they can to restore function and appearance, but we have to expect there to be some side effects. I think that with older babies, a side effect of correction is the appearance of ridges and/or bumps in the head. Younger babies have softer skulls so it seems possible that they may escape this side effect to some degree. From: stephaniebilliel <SBillielcomcast (DOT) net>PlagiocephalySent: Thu, July 8, 2010 10:50:00 PMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures Kathy - I think you bring up a good point that pedi's might also miss cranio, but it couldn't be for long. Cranio gets progressively worse as the baby's head grows. I have heard of some stories of kids with cranio initially being missed when the parents first raise their concerns, but it eventually got obvious. > > > >> > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks > > (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been > > good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I > > notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates > > which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing > > a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight?> > > >> > > > > > > >> > >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 - Thanks for the good idea! I know someone locally who said she knows a good CST person. I didn't realize it could help with the ridge. I wonder if it could help with the remaining facial asymmetry, too. I'll have to contact her and get more info if it's still a problem when we finish treatment as the clinician thinks it will be. > > > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Thanks for the explanation.  This makes sense.  I think 's ridging where the plates overlapped were either from early compression due to his big head, or from the tort/plagio. -Best, Kathy, mom to 25 months wrote:  Yes, 's ridge is horizontal, but it is clear that the plates are not overlapping. If it didn't know that it was along the suture line (from a model shown by our CST therapist), I probably would just think of it as a horizonatal bump. Like I said, the CST is what started the ridge so I see it more as 's head's attempt to provide some more rounding. And, it worked. Who knows - it may have also been related to the fact that one soft spot was already closed and the other one was almost closed due to the small size of her head.  Before, when her head was flat, there were no funny bumps or ridges so maybe cases of brachy are different in this way. I can see where ridges might be created more by plagio since the assymetry factor may complicate things. And, it also makes total sense that plates can overlap before or during birth.  But, as others have said, I'll take this bump anyday over what we had before. And,. I do think that if had been younger, it wouldn't be there. She also still has a swollen lymph node that started after she was banded. The ortho thought it was connected, but it popped up during a severe ear infection (ear drum burst) and the ped thinks that it would have popped up anyway. She said that as long as there aren't a bunch of them and it doesn't increase in size, there is nothing to worry about.  From: Kathy Lora Jensen <kathylorajensengmail> Plagiocephaly Sent: Fri, July 9, 2010 11:31:33 AM Subject: Re: Re: Ridge on Sutures  Hi, Maybe, is lucky in that the helmet didn't cause ridges or bumps that I know of. Hopefully, it didn't. It sounds like 's ridge is horizontal. 's is vertical, so they must be in a different spot. Maybe, this is because was a couple months younger when we started the helmet. The plagio may have caused 's ridging, or maybe the ridging caused the plagio. 's ridging may have been from birth, and then it got worse. 's ortho just told my husband that a lot of babies have ridging and that it is more visible on wider heads. I still find this extremely disturbing that pediatricians are not checking heads more carefully. The fact that it could be cranio and not just plagio makes this even more worrisome to me. I'm really glad that if it is cranio, at least it will eventually be caught. Some good news. 's new pediatrician said his head looks fabulous, and the ortho said similar things to my husband. The pediatrician could see a little upon examination, but she commented more on how his hair growth had been affected than the remaining head asymmetry. She was extremely sensitive and aware of plagio. (Actually, 's primary pediatrician was sick, but she was his alternate.) I'm not as happy as I would be because the better gets, the more I realize my other son has some plagio. Last year, my older son's head looked so great in comparison to 's, that it didn't bother me much. At least I should be thankful that 's head improved that much and I think it may improve a little more. Best, Kathy wrote:  I have a friend of a friend whose son's first ped missed cranio and this was true. The head just got worse and was shaped different than a regular plagio head. Luckily, her first ped retired and the second one caught it. He had surgery at about 15 months.  My daughter's head was examined by a neuro who did not feel any concern for cranio, yet she has a ridge that appeared after her head started to round out from both the CST and the helmet. It is along that suture that divides the back top and bottom of the head. Along with the ridge came rounding at the bottom half of her head. We had less rounding at the top, but again, I was told that this is often the last place to correct.  Think about it - the head has to round out somehow. In cases of older babies, the skull has hardened so the first place to budge at all is going to be along the suture line since they are not yet fused. The lack of flexibility of the skull results in the bumps that are often present after the band. My daughter's ridge is a bump on her suture line. I think it is worse the older the baby is when banded. For a while, this bothered me, but it makes total sense. And, it is not visible to the naked eye so no one notices unless they rub their head along the back of my daughter's head.  It's like once you hurt your knee, it is never totally back to normal (I can attest to this after 3 rounds of PT). Or, once you've had a heart attack, your heart has been damaged. Our bodies can repair themselves to some degree, but there are limits. Once our babies have a flat head, it isn't reasonable to expect that the head will ever be exactly like the neighbor's baby (who never had a flat head). The experts are doing what they can to restore function and appearance, but we have to expect there to be some side effects. I think that with older babies, a side effect of correction is the appearance of ridges and/or bumps in the head. Younger babies have softer skulls so it seems possible that they may escape this side effect to some degree.  From: stephaniebilliel <SBillielcomcast (DOT) net> Plagiocephaly@ groups. com Sent: Thu, July 8, 2010 10:50:00 PM Subject: Re: Ridge on Sutures  Kathy - I think you bring up a good point that pedi's might also miss cranio, but it couldn't be for long. Cranio gets progressively worse as the baby's head grows. I have heard of some stories of kids with cranio initially being missed when the parents first raise their concerns, but it eventually got obvious. > > > > > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks > > (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been > > good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I > > notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates > > which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing > > a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Just wanted to share- my 5 month old daughter also had a ridge along the back portion of her sagittal suture- our pediatrician was also pretty convinced that she had cranio and sent us for the CT scan. Turns out it was just the plates overlapping. She has been wearing the DOC band for 3 days now, and it is gone! My neighbor even noticed, unprompted by me. On 7/10/10, Kathy Lora Jensen <kathylorajensen@...> wrote: > Thanks for the explanation. This makes sense. I think 's ridging > where the plates overlapped were either from early compression due to > his big head, or from the tort/plagio. > -Best, > Kathy, mom to 25 months > > > wrote: >> >> Yes, 's ridge is horizontal, but it is clear that the plates >> are not overlapping. If it didn't know that it was along the suture >> line (from a model shown by our CST therapist), I probably would just >> think of it as a horizonatal bump. Like I said, the CST is what >> started the ridge so I see it more as 's head's attempt to >> provide some more rounding. And, it worked. Who knows - it may have >> also been related to the fact that one soft spot was already closed >> and the other one was almost closed due to the small size of her head. >> >> Before, when her head was flat, there were no funny bumps or ridges so >> maybe cases of brachy are different in this way. I can see where >> ridges might be created more by plagio since the assymetry factor may >> complicate things. And, it also makes total sense that plates can >> overlap before or during birth. >> >> But, as others have said, I'll take this bump anyday over what we had >> before. And,. I do think that if had been younger, it wouldn't >> be there. She also still has a swollen lymph node that started after >> she was banded. The ortho thought it was connected, but it popped up >> during a severe ear infection (ear drum burst) and the ped thinks that >> it would have popped up anyway. She said that as long as there aren't >> a bunch of them and it doesn't increase in size, there is nothing to >> worry about. >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> *From:* Kathy Lora Jensen <kathylorajensen@...> >> *To:* Plagiocephaly >> *Sent:* Fri, July 9, 2010 11:31:33 AM >> *Subject:* Re: Re: Ridge on Sutures >> >> >> >> Hi, >> >> Maybe, is lucky in that the helmet didn't cause ridges or bumps >> that I know of. Hopefully, it didn't. It sounds like 's ridge >> is horizontal. 's is vertical, so they must be in a different >> spot. Maybe, this is because was a couple months younger when we >> started the helmet. The plagio may have caused 's ridging, or >> maybe the ridging caused the plagio. 's ridging may have been >> from birth, and then it got worse. 's ortho just told my husband >> that a lot of babies have ridging and that it is more visible on wider >> heads. >> >> I still find this extremely disturbing that pediatricians are not >> checking heads more carefully. The fact that it could be cranio and >> not just plagio makes this even more worrisome to me. I'm really glad >> that if it is cranio, at least it will eventually be caught. >> >> Some good news. 's new pediatrician said his head looks fabulous, >> and the ortho said similar things to my husband. The pediatrician >> could see a little upon examination, but she commented more on how his >> hair growth had been affected than the remaining head asymmetry. She >> was extremely sensitive and aware of plagio. (Actually, 's >> primary pediatrician was sick, but she was his alternate.) I'm not as >> happy as I would be because the better gets, the more I realize >> my other son has some plagio. Last year, my older son's head looked >> so great in comparison to 's, that it didn't bother me much. At >> least I should be thankful that 's head improved that much and I >> think it may improve a little more. >> >> Best, >> Kathy >> >> >> >> >> wrote: >> >>> >>> I have a friend of a friend whose son's first ped missed cranio and >>> this was true. The head just got worse and was shaped different than >>> a regular plagio head. Luckily, her first ped retired and the second >>> one caught it. He had surgery at about 15 months. >>> >>> My daughter's head was examined by a neuro who did not feel any >>> concern for cranio, yet she has a ridge that appeared after her head >>> started to round out from both the CST and the helmet. It is along >>> that suture that divides the back top and bottom of the head. Along >>> with the ridge came rounding at the bottom half of her head. We had >>> less rounding at the top, but again, I was told that this is often >>> the last place to correct. >>> >>> Think about it - the head has to round out somehow. In cases of older >>> babies, the skull has hardened so the first place to budge at all is >>> going to be along the suture line since they are not yet fused. The >>> lack of flexibility of the skull results in the bumps that are often >>> present after the band. My daughter's ridge is a bump on her suture >>> line. I think it is worse the older the baby is when banded. For a >>> while, this bothered me, but it makes total sense. And, it is not >>> visible to the naked eye so no one notices unless they rub their head >>> along the back of my daughter's head. >>> >>> It's like once you hurt your knee, it is never totally back to normal >>> (I can attest to this after 3 rounds of PT). Or, once you've had a >>> heart attack, your heart has been damaged. Our bodies can repair >>> themselves to some degree, but there are limits. Once our babies have >>> a flat head, it isn't reasonable to expect that the head will ever be >>> exactly like the neighbor's baby (who never had a flat head). The >>> experts are doing what they can to restore function and appearance, >>> but we have to expect there to be some side effects. I think that >>> with older babies, a side effect of correction is the appearance of >>> ridges and/or bumps in the head. Younger babies have softer skulls so >>> it seems possible that they may escape this side effect to some degree. >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> *From:* stephaniebilliel <SBillielcomcast (DOT) net> >>> *To:* Plagiocephaly >>> *Sent:* Thu, July 8, 2010 10:50:00 PM >>> *Subject:* Re: Ridge on Sutures >>> >>> >>> >>> Kathy - I think you bring up a good point that pedi's might also miss >>> cranio, but it couldn't be for long. Cranio gets progressively worse >>> as the baby's head grows. I have heard of some stories of kids with >>> cranio initially being missed when the parents first raise their >>> concerns, but it eventually got obvious. >>> >>> >>> > > > > >>> > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks >>> > > (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been >>> > > good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I >>> > > notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates >>> > > which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while >>> wearing >>> > > a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? >>> > > > > >>> > > > > >>> > > > > >>> > > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > >>> >>> >> >> >> > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Your welcome. I have a book that I bought. I was hoping it was a how to book, but it was really written for people with CST training who have experience mostly with adults and older children. It is called Craniosacral therapy for infants and young children. In there, the book describes CST as a solution for this problem when it occurs during the birth process. That is what made me think of it. From: stephaniebilliel <SBilliel@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Sat, July 10, 2010 10:37:12 AMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures - Thanks for the good idea! I know someone locally who said she knows a good CST person. I didn't realize it could help with the ridge. I wonder if it could help with the remaining facial asymmetry, too. I'll have to contact her and get more info if it's still a problem when we finish treatment as the clinician thinks it will be. > > >> > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Human_skull_side_simplified_(bones).svg That is a link to a picture of where the cranial bones and sutures are (the sutures are the connections). I think that I've heard the first explanation more frequently, but take a look at the picture and then the ridge on your baby's head and see which explanation makes most sense to you. From: kpetersb <kpetersb@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Tue, July 13, 2010 9:19:24 PMSubject: Re: Ridge on Sutures Just an update that our tech told my husband today that the ridge (near the velcro opening) was where our son's two plates are meeting. The previous tech at the visit before told him that it was fluid build-up and would disappear. I concur that in the grand scheme of things, this little ridge/bump is not a big concern of ours. However, it would be nice to get one 'straight' answer and I'm going to ask again myself at the next visit out of curiosity. Good luck to all and this board has been an amazing resource for us!> > > > >> > > > > Son with plagio has been in a STAR Band helmet for 7 weeks (started at 6 month). During this period his cranial growth has been good with fairly good correction. However, a couple of days ago I notice a ridge on the cranial suture between the front two plates which has me concerned. Has anyone seen a ridge develop while wearing a helmet? If so, is this an indication the helmet is too tight? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > >> > >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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