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Dear Dr. Walt,
My six month old baby was born with what we consider to be a mild form of plagiocephaly. Her head is asymmetrical, when viewed from the top, and my husband and I can see a slight deformity in the back of her head when she is viewed from one of the sides. When I was pregnant with her, she was VERY low in the pelvis for at least 10 weeks, so we assume that the plagiocephaly originated from in-utero constraint.
Early on, before she was 5 months old, we were not concerned by this. We didn't even know there was anything abnormal, other than that she had what her father lovingly called a "lumpy head." She was born at home with a midwife, so we never took her to a doctor. We decided when she was 5 months old that we wanted a doctor to check a few things, so we took her in. At that time, he told us that we could treat her with a helmet, if we wanted to, but that hair would cover it up. (As an aside, he wrote on our receipt that her diagnosis was craniosysostosis--we had to make him correct that.) Since there was no disfigurement, we decided not to treat the plagiocephaly with a helmet, but to try repositioning. We have been repositioning for about 7 weeks now, and haven't noticed any change, but I know it takes time.
My questions are as follows:
1. In an infant, how does treatment of plagiocephaly with cranial osteopathy compare to conventional treatment with a helmet? Do you have an opinion on the conventional helmet therapy of plagiocephaly, and its effectiveness and whether if it is really necessary?
2. If the cranial bones are always moving, are you saying there is no such condition as craniosynostosis? Can you explain what is being seen on a CT Scan, that shows "fused" cranial sutures in craniosynostosis? Can you explain what causes the "bony ridges" that can be felt over "prematurely fused sutures".
Thank you very much for your insight.
Mom of two beautiful Girls
In Reply to: Plagiocephaly in my 6 1/2 month old infant posted by mom-of-two-beautiful-girls [1050.1574] on November 09, 2004 at 22:41:04:
Hi, Mom.
In my opinion the "helmet" is a disaster! If the CT scan shows fusing, surgery may be needed.
In my opinion if a cranial osteopath had been seen in consultation shortly (wthin a few months) after birth, all this could have been avoided.
If she were mine, I would at least get copies of the CT scan and the report, and see a good cranial osteopath (with reports in hand)in consultation before deciding what to do.
Let us know what happens.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Plagiocephaly in my 6 1/2 month old infant posted by Walt Stoll [9.8] on November 10, 2004 at 07:59:30:
Let me clarify a little. We never had a CT scan done because we opted against the helmet and to use repositioning instead. The CT scan is usually ordered before fitting the baby with a helmet, to rule out any chance of craniosynostosis. According to the literature, plagiocephaly and unilambdoid craniosynostosis have some similiarities. but several differences in outward appearance. She fits the description of plagiocephaly. Everything I have ever read about plagiocephaly has said that there was really no medical reason to use a helmet in the vast majority of cases, but rather that doctors ordered it because parents wanted it. We could, logically, see no good reason to make our baby wear a helmet for 23 hours a day for 4 months, just so that she would have a round head.
I have read the archives about cranial osteopathy. Is the information provided in the archives about the movement of the bones that make up the skull circulating cerebrospinal fluid fact or theory? Obviously, this is something that the general public is not aware of. Do you know if many infants with plagiocephaly are treated with cranial osteopathy, and what the general prognosis is?
Just curious, why do you think the helmet is a disaster?
In Reply to: Re: Plagiocephaly in my 6 1/2 month old infant posted by mom-of-two-beautiful-girls [1050.1574] on November 10, 2004 at 08:53:13:
Thanks, Mom.
You need the xray to see if the bones are starting to fuse because they cannot move. ALL bones in the body will eventually fuse if they cannot move at the joints. Once fused, only surgery will prevent damage to the growing brain.
The helmet is a disaster because it only is aimed at making the head grow cosmetically "normal". At the same time it increases the chances of permanently fusing the many joints in the skull and in effect, creating a permanent plagiocephaly.
Again I say you need to get a set of xrays of the skull (not necessasriuly a CT scan) and see a good cranial osteopath in consultation. Look this up on the internet and let us know what you learn. A routine initial evaluation of every newborn at birth, by a Crsnial Osteopath, is being seriously considered by this country, just like a routine PKU because of statistics of reduced ear infections as well as many other developmental conditions.
It usually takes at least a generation for implementation of any new concept by the medical profession and at least 2 generations for any revolutionary new concept.
Let us know what you learn.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Plagiocephaly in my 6 1/2 month old infant (Archive in CO.) posted by Walt Stoll [9.8] on November 10, 2004 at 16:24:40:
I contacted the Cranial Academy today to get the process of finding a cranial osteopath started. I'll let you know what happens frome here.
You said that we need the x-ray to see if the bones are fusing because they can not move. Why would the bones not be able to move? Does the plagiocephaly cause this? Her rear fontanelle has closed, but the other one is still open. Are there any other signs we can look for that might indicate that the bones are fusing? We can get x-rays done, but I am always very hesitant to expose any of my children to the radiation, especially in the head and would not want to unless it was absolutely necessary.
In Reply to: Re: Plagiocephaly in my 6 1/2 month old infant (Archive in CO.) posted by mom-of-two-beautiful-girls [1050.1574] on November 10, 2004 at 21:10:40:
Thanks, Mom.
The bones can be jammed together at the sutures by the process of birth and once jammed can get stuck. That is why consideration is being given for every newborn to be seen by a cranial osteopath while they are still in the hospital at birth.
Walt
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