Improving baby, should we still get a helmet?

[Guest guest]

Our baby was diagnosed at 2 months with plagiocephaly and torticollis. He was

very severe and measured 18. We were given instructions for aggressive

repositioning and stretches. We brought him back at 3 months. His plagiocephaly

had gotten better and measured 16 - which is still severe, but better. His

torticollis was also a little better. The PT said we would have to wait until

about 5 months before we would know if he needs a helmet. So now he is 4 months

and we just took him back today. He has greatly improved, his plagio now

measures 13, which is right in the middle of moderate and his torticollis is

better still, but he still has it a little. The PT said the choice is ours to

either put him in a helmet now or wait 3 more weeks until he almost 5 months old

and measure him again to see where he is. I asked her what she woudl recommend,

she said, at this point, he needs a helmet, but it could get better and change.

SO, that really leaves it up in the air for me.

She has recommended the Starband.

My questions are this:

1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely imrpove on his own?

Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should we still get him a helmet?

3. His ears are very assymetrical, can those go back ever, either with or

without a helmet?

4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction happen faster since he is

so young, shortening the time he will have to wear a helmet, or do they wear a

helmet until they are a certain age, regardless?

5. How long do little babies wear the helmet (Starband) on average? If we get

one now, he measures 13, if we wait three weeks, maybe he would be as low as 10.

Maybe more, who knows?

Any other advice? We are really struggling with this and want to make the best

decision for our child. We kind of feeel the sooner the better but just wondered

if that was sctually true. Any of your personal experiences that are similar

would be so helpful!!

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

As far as your thoughts that " the sooner the better " being true, early

intervention in general across many different medical concerns has been deemed

better. This is especially the case with something like this kind of treatment

that depends on a child's development (his growth spurts) that you can never get

back once the specific period of development has passed. But because your PT and

repositioning efforts have paid off, I can see why you might be hesitant.

Starting a baby in a band at 5 months is still not late so it seems that even if

you wait weeks after that, he should still see improvement back into the normal

range if you decide to do the helmet eventually. At least I know that is the

case for DocBands.

To answer this question though: " 4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his

correction happen faster since he is so young, shortening the time he will have

to wear a helmet, or do they wear a helmet until they are a certain age,

regardless? " , starting a DocBand earlier does mean shorter time in a helmet (if

it's only mild or moderate like your child. I can't speak for severe cases)

because you can catch more growth spurts. Our baby was in the high end of the

moderate range for plagiocephaly, started at about 5.5 months and had his helmet

on for 12 weeks. Had we not had to deal with prescription and insurance delays

and started when we first got in there at 4 months, they told us it would have

taken about 8 weeks. But still, 5.5 months wasn't too late and I know other

people start bands way later with good results. But they are more likely to need

multiple bands and to be in them longer.

My baby's ears went right back level after the helmet and he had visible

asymmetry there. So the helmet can correct that. I don't know about them fixing

themselves or if they will go back into place in correspondence with the

improvements you have gotten from repositioning.

If you think the mild asymmetry is not visible to strangers, then don't get the

helmet. I personally would get it if it were noticeable because I don't want to

be an old lady one day, thinking I should have taken the chance to fix it when I

could have. I still think that maybe if I had insisted the baby stay in the

helmet 2 more weeks we could have rounded out the quarter sized flat spot behind

his ear, but no one else notices. The therapist said the helmet had sort of

reached the end of its lifespan, which is a clue to me that either it wouldn't

have made a huge difference or he would have needed a new helmet. But he was in

the normal range overall and I think he looks perfect. And, in retrospect, at

that time he was plateauing in his growth and a substantial growth spurt

wouldn't have occurred for another 8 weeks maybe. My husband mentions the flat

spot every once in a while when he washes his head and I told him that bringing

up the minuscule flat spot doesn't serve any purpose since he wasn't willing to

pay $3800 more for a 2nd helmet just to round out a tiny spot for like 2-4 more

weeks. So you can see that even with what I call a highly successful correction

on my baby's head, there are still doubts in the back of my mind even though he

is in the normal range. So if yours still ends up mild, that still may be enough

reason to make you decide to get the helmet anyway for peace of mind.

Good job on the repositioning! To get him back into moderate and see visual

changes is great and not all of us are successful with that.

>

> Our baby was diagnosed at 2 months with plagiocephaly and torticollis. He was

very severe and measured 18. We were given instructions for aggressive

repositioning and stretches. We brought him back at 3 months. His plagiocephaly

had gotten better and measured 16 - which is still severe, but better. His

torticollis was also a little better. The PT said we would have to wait until

about 5 months before we would know if he needs a helmet. So now he is 4 months

and we just took him back today. He has greatly improved, his plagio now

measures 13, which is right in the middle of moderate and his torticollis is

better still, but he still has it a little. The PT said the choice is ours to

either put him in a helmet now or wait 3 more weeks until he almost 5 months old

and measure him again to see where he is. I asked her what she woudl recommend,

she said, at this point, he needs a helmet, but it could get better and change.

SO, that really leaves it up in the air for me.

>

> She has recommended the Starband.

> My questions are this:

> 1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely imrpove on his own?

Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

> 2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should we still get him a helmet?

> 3. His ears are very assymetrical, can those go back ever, either with or

without a helmet?

> 4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction happen faster since he is

so young, shortening the time he will have to wear a helmet, or do they wear a

helmet until they are a certain age, regardless?

> 5. How long do little babies wear the helmet (Starband) on average? If we get

one now, he measures 13, if we wait three weeks, maybe he would be as low as 10.

Maybe more, who knows?

>

> Any other advice? We are really struggling with this and want to make the best

decision for our child. We kind of feeel the sooner the better but just wondered

if that was sctually true. Any of your personal experiences that are similar

would be so helpful!!

>

> Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

My questions are this:1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely imrpove on his own? Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

-No way, it's impossible he would completely improve on his own. I aggressively repositioned my twins from month 3 to 14, it only helped not to get worse, but definitely not even 20% improvement. I think reposition works the best from birth to 3 months. 2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should we still get him a helmet?

-I think over 6mm still looks quite severe to me, not sure about your tolerance level. 3. His ears are very assymetrical, can those go back ever, either with or without a helmet?

-I do think the ear assymetry will get better even without the helmet. I say that because my husband has a flattened head just as one of my twins, however his ears don't seem off. He's 28 years old now. His plagio is just like one of my boys, but nobody can ever tell. I think he must be around 6-10mm off when he's a baby. I would think that his ears were off when he's little, but it's just my guess.4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction happen faster since he is so young, shortening the time he will have to wear a helmet, or do they wear a helmet until they are a certain age, regardless?

-The younger your baby is, the quicker the treatment is going to be. 5. How long do little babies wear the helmet (Starband) on average? If we get one now, he measures 13, if we wait three weeks, maybe he would be as low as 10. Maybe more, who knows?

-This depends on your baby's head growth. I would think it'll be very quick as his head grows super fast at this age.

[Guest guest]

1. If you examine the improvement you've gotten versus time, it looks

like you have direct evidence of increasing returns, so yeah, I think

you could succeed with repositioning. Your experience supports the

theory expressed by the chart on this web page:

http://www.plagiocephalyflathead.com/measure_plagiocephaly.php

But the question I would ask in reply is, how happy are you with

having to do what you've been doing, and can you really keep up the

effort until the baby is 2 years old (if neccessary)?

2. Depends on you. You can look at the severity categories as crude

expressions of the truth, if you accept the chart in #1 as the

truth. But when they assert that such-and-such asymmetry is " mild, "

I get a little uppity, because it implies a moral judgment which

ought to be yours alone. You're the one who has to look at your kid

and decide if it's a problem. When people tell me that Clara's 8 mm

asymmetry is not a problem, my blood still boils.

(Here's some unsolicited advice for the authorities: insurance

companies, focus on keeping your costs in check, not your customers.

We'll see you in Washington... Doctors, keep your bespectacled noses

close to the grindstone working on treatments.)

3. I certainly wouldn't expect a STARband to focus any special

attention on the ear offset. One orthotist I talked to just flat out

said, " the helmets don't correct that. " But of course, they do

sometimes correct that, people here have had that experience; the

ears are not anchored to something harder than the skull. But,

results can not be promised (by any brand).

4. YES.

5. It's going to be another month anyway, with the appointments and

manufacturing, so I guess you'll find out. As a rule, I think " the

sooner, the better " applies after 4 months. It's harder to outgrow a

STARband, but the initial fit is pretty loose in my experience, and I

think it's probably looser than it has to be after each adjustment,

too. 4-6 months, I think they say on the website. DOC bands are

thinner and frequently outgrown, but more precise fitting and

therefore faster. But, because you're LO is so young, the " 4 "

probably refers to you.

Thad Launderville

town, VT

Clara age 2, STARband '10

On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:43 PM, stilted2010 wrote:

> Our baby was diagnosed at 2 months with plagiocephaly and

> torticollis. He was very severe and measured 18. We were given

> instructions for aggressive repositioning and stretches. We brought

> him back at 3 months. His plagiocephaly had gotten better and

> measured 16 - which is still severe, but better. His torticollis

> was also a little better. The PT said we would have to wait until

> about 5 months before we would know if he needs a helmet. So now he

> is 4 months and we just took him back today. He has greatly

> improved, his plagio now measures 13, which is right in the middle

> of moderate and his torticollis is better still, but he still has

> it a little. The PT said the choice is ours to either put him in a

> helmet now or wait 3 more weeks until he almost 5 months old and

> measure him again to see where he is. I asked her what she woudl

> recommend, she said, at this point, he needs a helmet, but it could

> get better and change. SO, that really leaves it up in the air for me.

>

> She has recommended the Starband.

> My questions are this:

> 1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely imrpove

> on his own? Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

> 2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should we still get him

> a helmet?

> 3. His ears are very assymetrical, can those go back ever, either

> with or without a helmet?

> 4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction happen faster

> since he is so young, shortening the time he will have to wear a

> helmet, or do they wear a helmet until they are a certain age,

> regardless?

> 5. How long do little babies wear the helmet (Starband) on average?

> If we get one now, he measures 13, if we wait three weeks, maybe he

> would be as low as 10. Maybe more, who knows?

>

> Any other advice? We are really struggling with this and want to

> make the best decision for our child. We kind of feeel the sooner

> the better but just wondered if that was sctually true. Any of your

> personal experiences that are similar would be so helpful!!

>

> Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I agree that even 5-6mm can look bad.  I'm not sure whether it looks

bad in all cases.  When my toddler's head measurements were 5-6mm, I

still felt extremely queasy to look at his head.  It looked worse to

me than pretty much any head I've seen in public, although not as

bad as many plagio pictures I've seen posted.  At level 3, he is

down below 2mm now, and his head still looks more asymmetrical than

most his peers, although not noticeably that bad anymore.  Above

level 3 is where my son's worst asymmetry is, which explains some of

the discrepancy between the measurements and appearance.  I agree

that anything above 6mm is worth putting a helmet on, and it is

highly unlikely you will get there purely with repositioning at this

point.  So, it is worth putting a helmet on sooner.  I would not

wait past age 6 months to start the helmet, and since it takes times

to make appointments and wait for the helmet, I would not wait that

much longer to start the process.

Best,

Kathy 

On 11/16/2010 2:24 PM, Leina Tian wrote:

 

My questions are this:

1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely

imrpove on his own? Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

-No way, it's impossible he would

completely improve on his own. I aggressively repositioned

my twins from month 3 to 14, it only helped not to get

worse, but definitely not even 20% improvement. I think

reposition works the best from birth to 3 months.

2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should

we still get him a helmet?

-I think over 6mm still looks quite

severe to me, not sure about your tolerance level.

3. His ears are very assymetrical, can those go

back ever, either with or without a helmet?

-I do think the ear assymetry will

get better even without the helmet. I say that because

my husband has a flattened head just as one of my twins,

however his ears don't seem off. He's 28 years old now.

His plagio is just like one of my boys, but nobody can

ever tell. I think he must be around 6-10mm off when

he's a baby. I would think that his ears were off when

he's little, but it's just my guess.

4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction

happen faster since he is so young, shortening the time he

will have to wear a helmet, or do they wear a helmet until

they are a certain age, regardless?

-The younger your baby is, the

quicker the treatment is going to be.

5. How long do little babies wear the helmet

(Starband) on average? If we get one now, he measures 13,

if we wait three weeks, maybe he would be as low as 10.

Maybe more, who knows?

-This depends on your baby's head

growth. I would think it'll be very quick as his head

grows super fast at this age.

[Guest guest]

I would definitely want to get him below 10. Our doc recommends banding at 10 or

greater, so at 13 and 5 mo I would go ahead and band. By 6 mo repo gets harder,

because generally they get more mobile. I would take photos to track your

progress and give it 2 more months at most. If you're not happy with his head by

then band.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband

>

> Our baby was diagnosed at 2 months with plagiocephaly and torticollis. He was

very severe and measured 18. We were given instructions for aggressive

repositioning and stretches. We brought him back at 3 months. His plagiocephaly

had gotten better and measured 16 - which is still severe, but better. His

torticollis was also a little better. The PT said we would have to wait until

about 5 months before we would know if he needs a helmet. So now he is 4 months

and we just took him back today. He has greatly improved, his plagio now

measures 13, which is right in the middle of moderate and his torticollis is

better still, but he still has it a little. The PT said the choice is ours to

either put him in a helmet now or wait 3 more weeks until he almost 5 months old

and measure him again to see where he is. I asked her what she woudl recommend,

she said, at this point, he needs a helmet, but it could get better and change.

SO, that really leaves it up in the air for me.

>

> She has recommended the Starband.

> My questions are this:

> 1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely imrpove on his own?

Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

> 2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should we still get him a helmet?

> 3. His ears are very assymetrical, can those go back ever, either with or

without a helmet?

> 4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction happen faster since he is

so young, shortening the time he will have to wear a helmet, or do they wear a

helmet until they are a certain age, regardless?

> 5. How long do little babies wear the helmet (Starband) on average? If we get

one now, he measures 13, if we wait three weeks, maybe he would be as low as 10.

Maybe more, who knows?

>

> Any other advice? We are really struggling with this and want to make the best

decision for our child. We kind of feeel the sooner the better but just wondered

if that was sctually true. Any of your personal experiences that are similar

would be so helpful!!

>

> Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

Our son was also diagnosed with torticollis and plagiocephaly at 2 months.  At

that point we started pt and repositioning.  I was so hoping the resolution of

the torticollis with the pt would start him sleeping on his non-affected side

but no matter what we tried, the repositioning didn't work, he always ended up

back on the flattened side.   The pt said it was because his head was already

flat he sort of ended up laying like that by default The pt improved the

torticollis but his head re mained assymetric, especially the ears.  We went

for a plastic surgeons consultation at 3 1/2 or 4 months and he said he needed a

helmet.  He measured a 13 which they said was in the moderate to severe

category.  At this point I realized that

the repositioning was ineffective and I opted for the helmet (I dreaded it but

figured it was the best thing for my son).  He actually did great with it!  He

was not bothered by it at all except the first minute when we would remove it. 

Then he would scratch it until we put it back on and then he would settle

down.  We just went to the plastic surgeon a few days ago and he said he could

stop wearing the helmet Dec 1st.  He started wearing it Sept 29th.  They told

us he would probably have to wear it for 3 months so I was so pleasantly

surprised!  The plastic surgeon said his skull is the correct shape.  His

ears are still assymetric and his forehead still protrudes a bit but the

plastic surgeon said that will take years to correct but as the head now grows

in the correct position that those issues will resolve over time,  I hope this

helps and by the way, we used the

hanger prosthetic helmet. 

 

 

 

From: christineashok <christineashok@...>

Subject: Re: Improving baby, should we still get a helmet?

Plagiocephaly

Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 10:55 AM

 

I would definitely want to get him below 10. Our doc recommends banding at 10 or

greater, so at 13 and 5 mo I would go ahead and band. By 6 mo repo gets harder,

because generally they get more mobile. I would take photos to track your

progress and give it 2 more months at most. If you're not happy with his head by

then band.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband

>

> Our baby was diagnosed at 2 months with plagiocephaly and torticollis. He was

very severe and measured 18. We were given instructions for aggressive

repositioning and stretches. We brought him back at 3 months. His plagiocephaly

had gotten better and measured 16 - which is still severe, but better. His

torticollis was

also a little better. The PT said we would have to wait until about 5 months

before we would know if he needs a helmet. So now he is 4 months and we just

took him back today. He has greatly improved, his plagio now measures 13, which

is right in the middle of moderate and his torticollis is better still, but he

still has it a little. The PT said the choice is ours to either put him in a

helmet now or wait 3 more weeks until he almost 5 months old and measure him

again to see where he is. I asked her what she woudl recommend, she said, at

this point, he needs a helmet, but it could get better and change. SO, that

really leaves it up in the air for me.

>

> She has recommended the Starband.

> My questions are this:

> 1. If he is improving, is it possible he could completely imrpove on his own?

Maybe he wouldnt even need a helmet?

> 2. If he goes into the mild categroy (3-9) should we still get him a helmet?

> 3. His

ears are very assymetrical, can those go back ever, either with or without a

helmet?

> 4. If he goes into a helmet now, will his correction happen faster since he is

so young, shortening the time he will have to wear a helmet, or do they wear a

helmet until they are a certain age, regardless?

> 5. How long do little babies wear the helmet (Starband) on average? If we get

one now, he measures 13, if we wait three weeks, maybe he would be as low as 10.

Maybe more, who knows?

>

> Any other advice? We are really struggling with this and want to make the best

decision for our child. We kind of feeel the sooner the better but just wondered

if that was sctually true. Any of your personal experiences that are similar

would be so helpful!!

>

> Thanks!

>