Re: Facial asymmetry post-band

[Guest guest]

Perhaps some moms on the older plagio group have some ideas for you.

Maybe, you can try posting there. The only thing I can think of is

alternative treatments. Where do you live?

-Kathy

smccown615 wrote:

Hi all,

My daughter, Lexi, graduated from her DOC Band in February. She began

treatment at 4.5 months with 10 mm CVA, 4 mm mid-face, and 5 mm skull

base. After seven short weeks, she graduated with 3 mm CVA, 3 mm

mid-face and 3 mm skull base. I was disappointed that the band didn't

help more with the facial asymmetry (namely, the fuller cheek and jaw

line) and asked about a second band but our tech didn't recommend one

because he thought we would be disappointed in the results if we banded

her again just for the facial asymmetry.

It has been over four months since she graduated and her head shape has

not improved further despite tummy sleeping and spending very little

time on her back and what's worse, her facial asymmetry has not

improved at all either. She has some mild forehead bossing still, but

what concerns me most is the asymmetry in her cheeks/jaw line. The

bottom part of the back of her head looks pretty rounded now so I don't

know if a second band would have helped or not, but I am so depressed

about this! The difficult part is that we took my daughter to another

state in order to have her treated by Cranial Tech...so the closest CT

is nine hours away. I can't just bring her in and have her reevaluated,

although I desperately want to. She'll be 11 months old on July 4 and I

know time is running out, but I just don't know what I can do.

There is a Hanger location in my state - the only place that apparently

offers helmets here. They won't even see my daughter without a

prescription for a band. I know a lot of moms here use CST, but we

don't have anything like that here.

I feel completely helpless. I know something is wrong and I don't know

how to help her anymore - any advice?

Thanks so much,

Sharyn

Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/2010

[Guest guest]

HI!

I can't speak to your daughters head or face specifically... but I can tell you our outcome.

My dd had mild/mod plagio... with alot of facial asym. Her jaw was slanted, one eye was smaller, one cheek was fuller.

We had 2 hanger bands.

My dd is now 4.5 years old and her facial asym is almost unnoticable. Only I can really see it... and it is mostly in her teeth and smile.

I hope this will give you some hope that things do change.

Of course -- if your mommy voice is telling you that something needs to be done then follow that voice.

Make an appt with a cranio-facial team and see what they have to say.

Here's links to her pic when she was a baby:

Plagiocephaly/photos/album/1328910916/pic/531582447/view?picmode= & mode=tn & order=ordinal & start=21 & count=20 & dir=asc

Plagiocephaly/photos/album/1328910916/pic/137113672/view?picmode= & mode=tn & order=ordinal & start=41 & count=20 & dir=asc

And her now:

Straight smile May 2010

You can see the crooked smile Jan 2010

Jen

Mom to Luli - 4 yrs old

Torticollis, Plagio, Syringomyelia

Facial asymmetry post-band

Hi all,

My daughter, Lexi, graduated from her DOC Band in February. She began treatment at 4.5 months with 10 mm CVA, 4 mm mid-face, and 5 mm skull base. After seven short weeks, she graduated with 3 mm CVA, 3 mm mid-face and 3 mm skull base. I was disappointed that the band didn't help more with the facial asymmetry (namely, the fuller cheek and jaw line) and asked about a second band but our tech didn't recommend one because he thought we would be disappointed in the results if we banded her again just for the facial asymmetry.

It has been over four months since she graduated and her head shape has not improved further despite tummy sleeping and spending very little time on her back and what's worse, her facial asymmetry has not improved at all either. She has some mild forehead bossing still, but what concerns me most is the asymmetry in her cheeks/jaw line. The bottom part of the back of her head looks pretty rounded now so I don't know if a second band would have helped or not, but I am so depressed about this! The difficult part is that we took my daughter to another state in order to have her treated by Cranial Tech...so the closest CT is nine hours away. I can't just bring her in and have her reevaluated, although I desperately want to. She'll be 11 months old on July 4 and I know time is running out, but I just don't know what I can do.

There is a Hanger location in my state - the only place that apparently offers helmets here. They won't even see my daughter without a prescription for a band. I know a lot of moms here use CST, but we don't have anything like that here.

I feel completely helpless. I know something is wrong and I don't know how to help her anymore - any advice?

Thanks so much,

Sharyn

Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/2010

[Guest guest]

We did 2 CT bands and are somewhat happy but my wife is saying we may need a

3rd? I'm over it, I love my daughter as is and what should we do??? Well ....

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Facial asymmetry post-band

Hi all,

My daughter, Lexi, graduated from her DOC Band in February. She began treatment

at 4.5 months with 10 mm CVA, 4 mm mid-face, and 5 mm skull base. After seven

short weeks, she graduated with 3 mm CVA, 3 mm mid-face and 3 mm skull base. I

was disappointed that the band didn't help more with the facial asymmetry

(namely, the fuller cheek and jaw line) and asked about a second band but our

tech didn't recommend one because he thought we would be disappointed in the

results if we banded her again just for the facial asymmetry.

It has been over four months since she graduated and her head shape has not

improved further despite tummy sleeping and spending very little time on her

back and what's worse, her facial asymmetry has not improved at all either. She

has some mild forehead bossing still, but what concerns me most is the asymmetry

in her cheeks/jaw line. The bottom part of the back of her head looks pretty

rounded now so I don't know if a second band would have helped or not, but I am

so depressed about this! The difficult part is that we took my daughter to

another state in order to have her treated by Cranial Tech...so the closest CT

is nine hours away. I can't just bring her in and have her reevaluated, although

I desperately want to. She'll be 11 months old on July 4 and I know time is

running out, but I just don't know what I can do.

There is a Hanger location in my state - the only place that apparently offers

helmets here. They won't even see my daughter without a prescription for a band.

I know a lot of moms here use CST, but we don't have anything like that here.

I feel completely helpless. I know something is wrong and I don't know how to

help her anymore - any advice?

Thanks so much,

Sharyn

Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/2010

[Guest guest]

My son sees an orthotist at Hanger along with supervision from a cranial-facial surgeon at Vanderbilt Medical Center.  Dr. has over 20 years experience and I believe he truly understands how children's skulls grow.  My son also has facial asymmetry with a fuller right cheek, slight bossed forehead on the right, and a slightly larger right eye.   He has been in a helmet since November 2009 (since 6 1/2 months old).  He is still in the helmet and is now 13 1/2 months old.  We are really trying to get the left side of his forehead to become symmetric to the right side.  Then Dr. assures me that once the forehead is evened out the cheek and eye follow.  But it could take up to 2 more years after helmet therapy for the facial features to even out.  I was weary of his explanation, but after talking to another mom whose daughter had the same facial asymmetry and also was a patient of Dr. 's I felt so much better.  When her daughter's band came off she could still see the asymmetry, but she said after about a year and 1/2 it all evened out.  Now her daughter is 4 and she has no recognizable asymmetry.  I hope this helps ease your mind.  But do follow your instincts.  My son is still in the helmet because we are trying to get his forehead evened out.  But it sounds like your daughter might still have some bossing on the right side.  If you want to try the Hanger location near you ask your ped for a prescription.  We were originally in a different band and switched to the Hanger band when my son was 10 1/2 months old.  So your daughter is not that much older than when my son started in the Hanger band.  If you are determined to get her into another helmet, find a ped who will prescribe one for your daughter.  

On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 2:25 PM, smccown615 <smccown615@...> wrote:

 

Hi all,

My daughter, Lexi, graduated from her DOC Band in February. She began treatment at 4.5 months with 10 mm CVA, 4 mm mid-face, and 5 mm skull base. After seven short weeks, she graduated with 3 mm CVA, 3 mm mid-face and 3 mm skull base. I was disappointed that the band didn't help more with the facial asymmetry (namely, the fuller cheek and jaw line) and asked about a second band but our tech didn't recommend one because he thought we would be disappointed in the results if we banded her again just for the facial asymmetry.

It has been over four months since she graduated and her head shape has not improved further despite tummy sleeping and spending very little time on her back and what's worse, her facial asymmetry has not improved at all either. She has some mild forehead bossing still, but what concerns me most is the asymmetry in her cheeks/jaw line. The bottom part of the back of her head looks pretty rounded now so I don't know if a second band would have helped or not, but I am so depressed about this! The difficult part is that we took my daughter to another state in order to have her treated by Cranial Tech...so the closest CT is nine hours away. I can't just bring her in and have her reevaluated, although I desperately want to. She'll be 11 months old on July 4 and I know time is running out, but I just don't know what I can do.

There is a Hanger location in my state - the only place that apparently offers helmets here. They won't even see my daughter without a prescription for a band. I know a lot of moms here use CST, but we don't have anything like that here.

I feel completely helpless. I know something is wrong and I don't know how to help her anymore - any advice?

Thanks so much,

Sharyn

Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/2010

[Guest guest]

I would agree that the facial assymetry does improve beyond the helmet. At least

in my son's situation, I think a lot of it had to do with residual effects of

his tort which made his right cheek/face muscles weaker, and therefore it looked

puffier or more foreward on one side. He actually went through a year of speech

therapy (which was also attributed at least somewhat to tort) and worked on

exercises to build up his facial muscles (like sucking applesauce, milkshakes

and yogurt through a staw) and now his cheeks are completely even. (He'll be 4

in September).

I do still notice some of his eye assymetry occassionally (it depends on his

facial expressions), but I believe that is more " natural " bone structure from

his inuterine positioning (he was pressed into my uterine wall which pushed his

eye down a little...it improved with the bands, but not entirely because

inuterine shaping can be harder to correct...he just has a really hard skull and

I can still feel the slope on the top of his head from where it was pressed up

against the wall...it actually was a dent when he was born, so it definitely is

better, but still there).

Having said that, he was also older when he was banded, 17 months old, so

whenever someone has the opportunity to correct anything at a younger age, I'm

always for it. Better to do what you can now than to wait too long and not be

able to do anything about it.

Jake-3.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

Raleigh, NC

>

> >

> >

> > Hi all,

> >

> > My daughter, Lexi, graduated from her DOC Band in February. She began

> > treatment at 4.5 months with 10 mm CVA, 4 mm mid-face, and 5 mm skull base.

> > After seven short weeks, she graduated with 3 mm CVA, 3 mm mid-face and 3 mm

> > skull base. I was disappointed that the band didn't help more with the

> > facial asymmetry (namely, the fuller cheek and jaw line) and asked about a

> > second band but our tech didn't recommend one because he thought we would be

> > disappointed in the results if we banded her again just for the facial

> > asymmetry.

> >

> > It has been over four months since she graduated and her head shape has not

> > improved further despite tummy sleeping and spending very little time on her

> > back and what's worse, her facial asymmetry has not improved at all either.

> > She has some mild forehead bossing still, but what concerns me most is the

> > asymmetry in her cheeks/jaw line. The bottom part of the back of her head

> > looks pretty rounded now so I don't know if a second band would have helped

> > or not, but I am so depressed about this! The difficult part is that we took

> > my daughter to another state in order to have her treated by Cranial

> > Tech...so the closest CT is nine hours away. I can't just bring her in and

> > have her reevaluated, although I desperately want to. She'll be 11 months

> > old on July 4 and I know time is running out, but I just don't know what I

> > can do.

> >

> > There is a Hanger location in my state - the only place that apparently

> > offers helmets here. They won't even see my daughter without a prescription

> > for a band. I know a lot of moms here use CST, but we don't have anything

> > like that here.

> >

> > I feel completely helpless. I know something is wrong and I don't know how

> > to help her anymore - any advice?

> >

> > Thanks so much,

> > Sharyn

> > Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/2010

> >

> >

> >

>