• 3-month-old with Torticollis and Postitional Plagiocephaly
• Two-year-old with moderate flattened head syndrome
• Worried about 9 1/2 month old's flat head
• related page: Torticollis (Tilted Neck)

3-month-old with Torticollis and Postitional Plagiocephaly

Hi, Wondering if any parents can share advice on infants who have been diagnosed with both Torticollis and Postitional Plagiocephaly? My son, who is 3 months old, seems like he may have both (his Pediatrician has just referred me a Physical Therapist and a Cranio-Facial Surgeon). He was born with a squished face and nose, and we were told that he must have been compressed in the womb (he dropped quite early), but they suspected all would normalize over time. His nose popped back into place within the first few weeks, but his cheeks and eyes still seem a little asymmetrical. He also tends to tilt his head to the left and look towards the right (same direction that he was squished while in the womb), and has developed a flat spot on the back of his head - off to one side. It's not dramatic, but noticable if you study his face - and especially when you look at him in a mirror. If any other parents have info on how treatment works (or doesn't) for PT and or DocBand (helmut) therapy, I'd be most appreciative of the information. Thank You gs

We moved relocated back to the east coast 3 months ago and luckily found a pediatrician who 100% agreed that my son had a severe case of ''flathead'' and needed to start treatment with a DOC band ASAP. He is now wearing his DOC band and after only 3 weeks of treatment his head is noticeably in a much better shape, basically a ''normal'' head shape.

I urge you as a parent to advocate for your child and see a pediatric neurologist very soon. From all the research I have done, the best time to start treatment for plagiocephaly is between 3-5 months for the best results. In addition, the younger a baby starts treatment, the shorter amount of time they need to wear a DOC band.

You can visit the Cranial Technologies website at www.cranialtech.com. They do not have a clinic in the Bay Area, but they do have one in San Diego.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Good luck! Dana

His cranio-facial specialist was Dr. Elio Gizzi, a very knowledgeable and kind person, who is director at the Craniofacial Center in Children's Hospital Oakland. http://www.chocraniofacial.org/webpages/abouttheclinic.htm We were advised that a helmet would not be necessary, because the asymmetries would correct by themselves. However, we did not want to wait and see if they would correct or not and we opted for the helmet.

The orthotist who made his helmet was Peter Villalpando, from Walnut Creek. He is very sweet with the babies, and he explained everything to us. The helmet must be wore a couple of hours during the first day, increasing until the 5th day when the baby will be wearing the helmet almost 24 hours.

The big problem was that our baby was in helmet therapy during summer, and he sweated a lot. At the beginning he was uncomfortable, but then he got used to it. Other inconvenience was to teach caregivers at child care to put/take off the helmet when necessary, but we managed to do that. You will have to visit the orthotist every two or four weeks, depending on the stage of treatment your baby is, and you need to be aware that the treatment should begin before the 6th month in order to have better results. Feel free to email me if you have further questions Cristina

Two-year-old with moderate flattened head syndrome

I have a 2-year-old with moderate flattened head syndrome (positional plagiocephaly), which was not treated during infancy following our pediatrician's advice. Everyone told me her head would round out on its own, but it is still rather noticeable at 2 years of age, especially since her hair is naturally thin. Her head is oblique, and her ears are assymetrical. Does anyone have an older child (2+ years old) whose flattened head did round out on its own eventually without treatment, or can share experiences similar to ours? I know it's a totally cosmetic problem in our case, but I'm still concerned as cosmetic problems can have social consequences in one's life.

Another person I highly recommend that I've gone to is Michelle Reddel at 510-649-9169, 2560 Ninth Street #313 in Berkeley. She does a combination of chiropractic cranial sacral work. I know many people are sceptical of alternative treatments like this, but what do you have to loose. It's not invasive or painful, there's no medication nor needles. I have seen it work wonders with children that have colic as well as other issues too. anon

Worried about 9 1/2 month old's flat head

My 9 1/2 month old baby boy has a flat head from sleeping on his back and side. I understand that flathead is a result of preventive measures we must take against SIDs. I have pointed out the problem to my son's pediatrician. He agreed that the boy is getting flat head, but did not appear concerned and said there isn't much we can do about it. I'm not sure if that means there is nothing we can do about it or if that means our insurance won't pay for whatever needs to be done to correct the problem. Any ideas, suggestions, solutions or feedback on flathead? I've read articles about how to prevent it, but it's a little late now. Thanks, Jo Ann