Looking for a Pediatric Neurosurgeon

A.,
My son ended up not needing any intervention, but was looked at for possibly having plagiocephaly. Children's Memorial Hospital has a plagiocephaly clinic in Lincoln Park on Clark street (North of Fullerton, South of Diversey). We saw Dr. McLean and he was great. Good Luck!

Check Children's Memorial in Lincoln Park. I work in a neurologist office that only treats adults and we advise those with children to see neurologists there. Also recommend to get advise/recommendations from your pediatrician- they probably know someone who specializes in that area.

Just wanted to let you know that there is an article in the September Parents magazine on this condition (page 117).
Sites it suggests for further reading are:
plagiocephaly.org
cappskids.org
cranialtech.com

Hope this helps!

Does your daughter definitely need surgery? My daughter and my niece both have tortacollis, and they are seeing Pediatric Physical Therapists to help them. I use Hinsdale Hospital. Check with their website www.keepingyouwell.com, and see if there are any referrals to pediatric surgeons, or call the referral line. Good luck!

Hi. We had this same issue with our daughter, who just turned one. We noticed it at about 7 weeks and began aggressively "repositioning" her (keeping her off the flat spot) and at her 8-week check the pediatrician gave us stretching exercises to do several times daily. I found the babycenter.com bulletin board on plagiocephaly to be very helpful (http://bbs.babycenter.com/board/baby/babysleep/1202063). I also referred you to Dr. Frank Vicari (affiliated with Children's Memorial), who sees patients in Chicago, Westchester, and Glenview. Good luck.

A.,

Sorry to hear about your daughter. My 5-month-old daughter also has a torticollis, in her case due to severe reflux. We've been working with a physical therapist at Dupage County Easter Seals, and I'll bet you they will know of a good resource for you. Their phone number is ###-###-####.

Good luck! Feel free to email back if you'd like to talk to someone.

K.

Hi A.,
My daughter is 6 months old now but when she was your daughter's age I was also really worried about plagiocephaly. I noticed a flat, bald spot on the back of her head just from sleeping her on her back. Plenty of people told me that babies' heads change and I didn't believe them until I saw it. Once she started rolling she preferred to sleep on her side and the problem went away. I'm not sure if your daughter's torticollis is a chronic problem or not, but if she is now able to move her head I really wouldn't worry yet. If she tolerates it you could give her lots of belly time. As a last resort I would look to helmets for plagiocephaly. They are very expensive (although sometimes insurance covers part or all of the cost) but they do the trick without the need for neurosurgery. Basically they make a mold of your child's head and your child wears the helmet for something like 23 hours a day for several months. Again, I would wait a little while to see if the problem corrects itself but I think the helmets only work on kids up to something like 15-18 months. Hope this helps!