plagiocephaly, 7month old with flat head

[camcam]

Hi this is my first post. My name is Michelle and I have a 7 month old son name Cameron. He is my first and has been an awesome experience for me and my husband, Chris.

Were tring to decide if we should do a helmet for our 7 month old who had torticollis, which forced him to lay on one side of his head. He does have flatting on one side. A Nurosurgeon told us it would shape on it's own, as long as we did our part of positioning,etc. It has improved significantly but still has flattening on the back side.
As a mom who wants the best for her son, we looked into a helmet to position his head. We were told this would correct it sooner than time, correct being that it wont be 100% but just alot better. The helmet cost 3k and insurnace wont cover it since its cosmetic(his development is fine).
Has anyone had issues with flat head with their baby? And used a helmet to correct this problem or waited it out with good results?

Thanks,
M

[CAMSMOM1]

Hi Michelle, Welcome to the board!

Congradulations on your son, Cameron! I also have a son Cameron, who is 21 months old, we call him Cam-Cam....so I totally love your screen name!



To answer your question. I haven't experienced this before. So I might not be much help. But....

Does your doctor recommend you buy the helmet??? Or was is just a suggestion? If your doctor really believes it will help him significantly, then I would consider it. But first, I would want to see any other options. Is there anything else you could do for him, that your insurance does cover? You said this will get better on it's own, are you getting the helmet to speed things along??? Have you done any research on the helmets? Have you gotten a second opinion?

If your doctor highly suggest you buying the helmet, because it's nessassary for his health and development, then it's worth the money. But if your doctor says that things will be fine on it's own, with your help positioning the head, then I would wait it out for awhile and see if things improve.

Sorry I couldn't be much help. But if I were in your position, I would want to get all the facts I could about his condition and on the helmet. I would get a 2nd opinion from another specialist, and see if there is a similar helmet for less money.

Let us know how it goes. I hope you stick around, and we can get to know you. This is a great place for support. And lots of friendly parents. I know how great it's been for me, since I'm a 1 st time Mommy.

Ann

[CosmetologyMommy]

I too just found out that Aidan might have to wear a helmet. The doc gave me a book on it and it said if left untreated it can cause the head to be mishappen forever.

[jacobsmama]

I'm Kristi mother to Jacob..Wife to Loren.

I have not been through this but good friends of ours had to have there son wear a helmet and in 6 months he no longer had to wear it...But the condition was not the same and also they had to get a new one in that time frame too because he grew so much and he was about 6 months old at the time too.

So if insurance doesn't cover it and he does end up having to get another one because of growth with his head then if they think it will fix on its own then you might want to think about that. I think once you start doing the helmet you have to complete the full treatment with it...Just a thought.
Again I never went through this but some friends did and he is great now!

[CosmetologyMommy]

Aidan has a consultation for his helmet on Feb. 6th......I hope it goes good

[jem0622]

A lot of twin mom's I've talked with have had one or more of their kids with plagio. Yes, the helmet is the absolute best and worth every penny. You can write off medical expenses on your taxes. Remember that! If it were me, I'd do the helmet.

[CosmetologyMommy]

does he wear it all day or at night, like headgear when u have braces?