5 month old daughter with flat spot

[Guest guest]

My daughter has developed at flat spot on the back/side of her head. A little

background: When she was 2 weeks old, she suffered from a skull fracture.

While she was healing from it, she tended to turn her head to the opposite side

(not fracture side) when in her swing or crib. I never tried to change her

position as I didn't want to interfere with the healing of her fracture. At

about 3 months, I notice that she had developed what the ped said is a " mild "

flat spot. His recommendation was to turn her around in her crib to encourage

her to turn her head to see the fun side of the room. Also recommended that I

put a rolled up blanket under her shoulder when sleeping to force her to keep

her head turned in the correct direction. I did so immediately. I don't think

it has gotten worse, but I can't tell if it has gotten any better. My questions

are: How long can it take for this to correct itself? How does the self

correction process work? (i.e. will laying on the other side push her skull

back the other way? how does it round back out? I am freaking out now that I

have been reading about this condition and people saying that there are

developmental delays caused by it....ugh. As if I am not cookoo enough over her

due to her injury, now I am constanly worried about this! Please help with an

info

Thank you,

[Guest guest]

Well, as you can see in the preceding newbie post, how long to try

repositioning is an insurance issue, so I'd start there as a

practical matter. Repositioning is " expectant, " or non-treatment,

from a medical perspective. It's basically trial-and-error. The

influence on the shape of the head is said to be like the deformation

of a water balloon against a flat surface: part flattening, part

bulging out because of gravity. It's practically impossible to keep

the head in an ideal position without some sort of SIDS-

contraindicated ring pillow or foam mattress with a circular cutout.

I wouldn't demand a helmet because of projected cognitive deficits,

if I were you. That's probably not an issue, being supposedly mild

flatness and not evident at birth. Think more along the lines of

preventing sinus problems, crossed eyes, dental malocclusion and

migraines. See if you can imagine the overall skull shape you see

causing those things. Consider that not all the bone has formed at

this age; it might look rounder now than it will ultimately, just

because of the fontanelles. Esthetic concerns aren't totally

insignificant, but I see quite a variety of head shapes among popular

people in the wild... on TV, that is.

To get more objective confirmation of " mild " or not, check out the

Cranial Technologies website, or upload pictures to the photos

section for comment. Looking down on the top of the head, far enough

away that both ears are visible, is probably the most telling angle,

plus one from the front or back that is in line with the flat spot --

the worst aspect.

--

Thad Launderville

town, VT

Clara age 2, STARband '10

On Aug 23, 2010, at 3:11 PM, shannonm19975 wrote:

>

> My daughter has developed at flat spot on the back/side of her

> head. A little background: When she was 2 weeks old, she suffered

> from a skull fracture. While she was healing from it, she tended to

> turn her head to the opposite side (not fracture side) when in her

> swing or crib. I never tried to change her position as I didn't

> want to interfere with the healing of her fracture. At about 3

> months, I notice that she had developed what the ped said is a

> " mild " flat spot. His recommendation was to turn her around in her

> crib to encourage her to turn her head to see the fun side of the

> room. Also recommended that I put a rolled up blanket under her

> shoulder when sleeping to force her to keep her head turned in the

> correct direction. I did so immediately. I don't think it has

> gotten worse, but I can't tell if it has gotten any better. My

> questions are: How long can it take for this to correct itself? How

> does the self correction process work? (i.e. will laying on the

> other side push her skull back the other way? how does it round

> back out? I am freaking out now that I have been reading about this

> condition and people saying that there are developmental delays

> caused by it....ugh. As if I am not cookoo enough over her due to

> her injury, now I am constanly worried about this! Please help with

> an info

>

> Thank you,

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome to the group. With my experience, after 3 months of repositioning, my son's head did not get any better, however, it did not get any worse either. I noticed the bossing at 2.5 mths and we had our 1st appt at Hanger at about 3 mths. He had a 10mm asymmetry then. We went back every month (during the aggressive repo) and it never changed from the 10mm. At 5.5mths, we banded. and as I said in my earlier post. We have had phenomenol results in the last month.. Down to 0mm. (still see a little bossing). also, we do have some ear asymmetry, which has not gotten better. By measurements with a tape, one ear is 3mm closer to the tip of his nose than the other. If you can, I would go ahead and try to get in somewhere to get some measurements, so you can see any difference over the next couple of months with

repo. Also, take your own pictures. That's helpful when you can go back and look at them to see a difference yourself. Good Luck.

From: Thad Launderville <p38thadl@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Tue, August 24, 2010 3:39:20 AMSubject: Re: 5 month old daughter with "flat spot"

Well, as you can see in the preceding newbie post, how long to try repositioning is an insurance issue, so I'd start there as a practical matter. Repositioning is "expectant," or non-treatment, from a medical perspective. It's basically trial-and-error. The influence on the shape of the head is said to be like the deformation of a water balloon against a flat surface: part flattening, part bulging out because of gravity. It's practically impossible to keep the head in an ideal position without some sort of SIDS- contraindicated ring pillow or foam mattress with a circular cutout.I wouldn't demand a helmet because of projected cognitive deficits, if I were you. That's probably not an issue, being supposedly mild flatness and not evident at birth. Think more along the lines of preventing sinus problems, crossed eyes, dental malocclusion and migraines. See if you can imagine the overall skull shape

you see causing those things. Consider that not all the bone has formed at this age; it might look rounder now than it will ultimately, just because of the fontanelles. Esthetic concerns aren't totally insignificant, but I see quite a variety of head shapes among popular people in the wild... on TV, that is.To get more objective confirmation of "mild" or not, check out the Cranial Technologies website, or upload pictures to the photos section for comment. Looking down on the top of the head, far enough away that both ears are visible, is probably the most telling angle, plus one from the front or back that is in line with the flat spot -- the worst aspect.-- Thad Laundervilletown, VTClara age 2, STARband '10On Aug 23, 2010, at 3:11 PM, shannonm19975 wrote:>> My daughter has developed at flat spot on the back/side of her > head. A little

background: When she was 2 weeks old, she suffered > from a skull fracture. While she was healing from it, she tended to > turn her head to the opposite side (not fracture side) when in her > swing or crib. I never tried to change her position as I didn't > want to interfere with the healing of her fracture. At about 3 > months, I notice that she had developed what the ped said is a > "mild" flat spot. His recommendation was to turn her around in her > crib to encourage her to turn her head to see the fun side of the > room. Also recommended that I put a rolled up blanket under her > shoulder when sleeping to force her to keep her head turned in the > correct direction. I did so immediately. I don't think it has > gotten worse, but I can't tell if it has gotten any better. My > questions are: How long can it take for this to correct itself? How > does the self

correction process work? (i.e. will laying on the > other side push her skull back the other way? how does it round > back out? I am freaking out now that I have been reading about this > condition and people saying that there are developmental delays > caused by it....ugh. As if I am not cookoo enough over her due to > her injury, now I am constanly worried about this! Please help with > an info >> Thank you,>>