Guest guest Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 My daughter Aubrey(4 months) was diagnosed with mild plagio. The neurosurgeon told us that he thinks it will fix itself. We started repositioning her and I was wondering how long does it take for her to show results? Also he told us that if her head was still misshappen at 1 year then he would have her wear the helmet. Would she be too old for the helmet to work at 1 year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I really think 1 year is pushing it--- We were told that we ought to begin correction by 4-6 months for best results, or as soon after that as possible. How old is your baby now? (oops, just saw 4 months). I repositioned and did PT from 4-6 months then got the helmet. If I were in your shoes, I would start aggressive repositioning now and be lining up all my ducks for a helmet. It took 6 weeks for us to get in for our initial appointment--so I would find that out; if it will take that long, you need to go ahead and make that. The plastic surgeon we saw said that what hasn't corrected by 6 months will be unlikely to fully correct on its own (although it might become less noticeable). You may have a lot of insurance and doctor mess to wade through, and now is the time to start that-- Betsy My daughter Aubrey(4 months) was diagnosed with mild plagio. The neurosurgeon told us that he thinks it will fix itself. We started repositioning her and I was wondering how long does it take for her to show results? Also he told us that if her head was still misshappen at 1 year then he would have her wear the helmet. Would she be too old for the helmet to work at 1 year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 There is NO WAY you should wait until 1 year! That may be too late to get the results you want. At 4 month you probably have a few weeks before you should start. I would go ahead and call CT or another reputable helmet place and set up an appointment for an evaluation. I'm not an expert, but if her plagio is truly mild, personally I would set it for about 5-5.5 months. Just because you get an evaluation, does not mean you are locked into a helmet. I have two sons. One has very mild plagio and the other was closer to moderate. We tried our own versions of nonaggressive repositioning with both not knowing about the helmet. The older's head turned out okay. He still has a flat spot, but it is only visible when his hair is wet. For the younger one I highly regret not starting him in a helmet until 12months. He is 16.5months and still in a helmet. I predict he will eventually end at very mild plagio, but not normal. Best, Kathy, mom to 16.5 months wrote: My daughter Aubrey(4 months) was diagnosed with mild plagio. The neurosurgeon told us that he thinks it will fix itself. We started repositioning her and I was wondering how long does it take for her to show results? Also he told us that if her head was still misshappen at 1 year then he would have her wear the helmet. Would she be too old for the helmet to work at 1 year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 We waited until our son was 13 months and then got the helmet. We wanted to give his head a chance to correct itself. It didn't so we had him fitted for a Docband. He has been in it for 3 weeks and there is already improvement. Our tech said this week that he is doing so well that he may not be in the band for the full 16 weeks...that was wonderful news! It's so hard to decide b/c you don't know what your child's head is going to do. But the sooner you do it, the greater chance of improvement and less time in the band. Good luck! , mom of , almost 14 months old, mild plagio On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 8:15 PM, Kathy Jensen <kathylorajensen@...> wrote: There is NO WAY you should wait until 1 year! That may be too late to get the results you want. At 4 month you probably have a few weeks before you should start. I would go ahead and call CT or another reputable helmet place and set up an appointment for an evaluation. I'm not an expert, but if her plagio is truly mild, personally I would set it for about 5-5.5 months. Just because you get an evaluation, does not mean you are locked into a helmet. I have two sons. One has very mild plagio and the other was closer to moderate. We tried our own versions of nonaggressive repositioning with both not knowing about the helmet. The older's head turned out okay. He still has a flat spot, but it is only visible when his hair is wet. For the younger one I highly regret not starting him in a helmet until 12months. He is 16.5months and still in a helmet. I predict he will eventually end at very mild plagio, but not normal. Best,Kathy, mom to 16.5 months wrote: My daughter Aubrey(4 months) was diagnosed with mild plagio. The neurosurgeon told us that he thinks it will fix itself. We started repositioning her and I was wondering how long does it take for her to show results? Also he told us that if her head was still misshappen at 1 year then he would have her wear the helmet. Would she be too old for the helmet to work at 1 year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 I'm not entirely sure about the angle of the mattress contributing to increased head height if you are having your daughter sleep on her sides. On her back, most definitely yes. The forehead being " pushed forward " is called frontal bossing. The forehead is growing outward due to the same reasons that her head is increasing in height and is flat in the back. The head was being compressed due to limited neck mobility from the torticollis. Even though you are longer letting the back of her head hit a hard surface, the head is still growing in the direction it was previously. I would advise getting your daughter a band as soon as possible to prevent further deformation and allow for the redirection of growth so that her head grows in the proper formation. At 4 months old she should have great results! > > My daughter, 4 mo, has plagiocephaly (almost brachiocephaly) from torticollis. We've been doing PT and she's doing great with it. We've also been very aggressive with repositioning. The PT today thought the plagio was almost gone, but the head height keeps raising and she will definitely need a helmet. The back of her head seems to be coming to a point. Reading all the repositioning guides, I think I have found the issue, but I wanted to see if you all could confirm? > > It seems that head height is caused by upward pressure from an angled surface (car seat, bouncy chair, etc). We haven't been placing her in anything with an angle to it that could cause it. But, our daughter has reflux and our doctor had us put her mattress on an angle in her bed to prevent the reflux. It is only slight (left side is 3-4 " higher than right side), but she sleeps on it every night. > > We've had her side sleeping and rotating her, but could the angle of the bed be causing the head height to go up? Is there anything else that would cause the head to raise? > > Also, her forehead seems to be pushing forward more. What causes that or are they related? > > Thanks for the help! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 It may be the crib angle, but hard to say. Some babies don't improve that much with repo along, and some improve drastically. As for the forehead, if there is pressure elsewhere, the growth has to go somewhere. Generally pressure on the back will effect the forehead. With brachy the effect may be symmetric. My daughter had some forehead bossing with her brachy. She wore a starband and got good correction. I would advise you to consider banding, since your repo efforts aren't working as well as you hoped. 4 mo is a great age to band and get optimal results. I understand wanting to avoid the band if you can, but it is very effective, and really far easier to do than you might imagine. -christine sydney, 4 yrs, starband grad > > My daughter, 4 mo, has plagiocephaly (almost brachiocephaly) from torticollis. We've been doing PT and she's doing great with it. We've also been very aggressive with repositioning. The PT today thought the plagio was almost gone, but the head height keeps raising and she will definitely need a helmet. The back of her head seems to be coming to a point. Reading all the repositioning guides, I think I have found the issue, but I wanted to see if you all could confirm? > > It seems that head height is caused by upward pressure from an angled surface (car seat, bouncy chair, etc). We haven't been placing her in anything with an angle to it that could cause it. But, our daughter has reflux and our doctor had us put her mattress on an angle in her bed to prevent the reflux. It is only slight (left side is 3-4 " higher than right side), but she sleeps on it every night. > > We've had her side sleeping and rotating her, but could the angle of the bed be causing the head height to go up? Is there anything else that would cause the head to raise? > > Also, her forehead seems to be pushing forward more. What causes that or are they related? > > Thanks for the help! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.