Plagiocephaly Info Request

I do have experience w/ plagiocephaly and braciocephaly. My niece was born w/ torticollis and laid on one the same side of her head which gave her plagiocephaly. They put a helmet on her and it worked great.

Having witnessed this first hand I was on point when I had my second child. He was actually born w/ braciocephaly. (same as plagio, just slightly to the side..not straight flat in the back). He was so large in the womb that he got stuck in 1 position and came out like that. My ped. kept saying, it would straighten out on its own and it wasn't!! I changed his positions, didn't let him lay on his back much, he rolled to his belly and slept as soon as he could and I had him on the things to prevent palgiocephaly from birth. --IT WASN'T FIXING ITSELF I saw a cranial surgeon that wanted to cut his skull into pieces and re-shape it because he thought the helmets were a joke. I asked him to refer me anyway because my son also had a heart condition and I thought surgery was dramatic.

The helmet helped him as well. In time it will get a little better, but my understanding is you need to do it now or you miss the window. The casting is very difficult on the babies and it takes longer to work the older they are. He is on the very outside window of when they like to use them.

Also, tell everyone it doesn't always resolve itself. So please stop making those comments unless they have had a child w/ plagiocephaly. My cousin had me feel her sons head when I told her about my son. It was totally lopsided on one side. He had think hair so I hadn't realy noticed it. She always held him on the same side in her arms and it gave him it. It is bad enought that he won't be able to wear his hair buzzed or real short and he will definately know it is there.

It takes a while for insurance to go throught, have the helmet made and ect.. so if you are considering it you really need to get the process started.

Good luck on your decision!!

I don't have any firsthand knowledge, but my best friends first son had to wear the helmet and it fixed everything. I also had an old co-worker whos son had to wear one. I could get you their information if you would like. Just let me know.

I know a mom who has had 2 children with this, both her children had early intervention (about 9 months or so), and it worked well with her son and they are now having the same situation with their daughter. If you want you can email me at ____@____.com, and I will forward your info to her, if you would like to talk to her in further detail about her experiences in this area.

Hi K.. I have a son who will be 2 in November. He had a mild case of the same thing your son has. I asked his Pediatrician about it and she told me that more than likely his head would get back to normal since it was a mild case. Being a concerned Mom, I asked for a referral to a plastic surgeon anyway to check on getting him a helmet. The surgeon then told me the same thing that his regular doctor had told me. Looking at my sone now, his head is almost completely aligned. You cannot even tell he had any problems with it. From what I understood from the surgeon is that when it is jsut a mild case, it will not effect your son at all, and it will most likely correct itself in a year or so. The surgeon did also tell me that usually insurance companies will not cover the cost if it is "not really needed" and it can run upwards of 2-3 thousand dollars. If it is just a very mild case, then I would say it is probably going to be up to you on if you want to have it done or not. It will not effect his health at all if that is what you are concerned about. I would tell you though that if you are concerned about it, you would probably be better off atleast going to a consultation with a plastic surgeon just to ease your mind. i hope this has helped.

My 8 month old son was diagnosed with brachiocephaly. He had a severe case. My pediatrician didn't really think it was that bad, so he referred me to a plastic surgeon also. He said that he would need to wear a helmet. I became concerned about it when he was a little over 3 months old. They don't start it until at least 4 months, but the doctor did tell me that we can't wait too long because once they turn 1 the sutures in the skull have pretty much fused and they would have to do the surgery where they pretty much take the skull apart and have to put it back together again. If you have any more questions, feel free to e-mail me, ____@____.com.