BRENDAN

            In hopes of offering encouragement to parents who decide to reposition their child who has been diagnosed with plagiocephaly I would like to share with you our repositioning SUCCESS story.

            Brendan was born naturally at 38 weeks gestation.  However, when he started to present he was presenting hand first.  The doctor had to aggressively reposition him in order to avoid a C-section.  After his birth he was checked over carefully and everything appeared to be fine.  It was not until he was 3 months old that he was diagnosed with plagiocephaly/torticollis.  However, when we look back at pictures and videos it is obvious that the torticollis was apparent from birth.  We will never know if his birth complication contributed to the tort/plagio or if he was positioned funny in the uterus.   His plagio was not caused by back sleeping however that did not make the situation any better.  Back sleeping contributed to the severity.

            We are very fortunate that our pediatrician is affiliated with a local children’s hospital and when Brendan was three months of age referred us right to a neurosurgeon and to physical therapy.  Around two months of age I did notice that he hung his head funny but I just thought it was taking longer for his neck muscles to strengthen.  So I never thought to mention it to my Dr..  However, between the ages of 2 and 3 months his head began to take on an abnormal shape and our pediatrician knew right away it was plagiocephaly.

            The neurosurgeon diagnosed Brendan with a mild/moderate case of plagiocephaly.  Brendan had frontal bossing and also his ears were misaligned.  There did not appear to be any facial asymmetry.  Maybe some if you study photographs very closely.  But it is so hard to tell.  Is anyone’s face truly symmetrical?  He explained all the options of treatment to us and also questioned us closely about our home situation.   He recommended that we give repositioning a try and that he would like to follow us closely every 3 to 4 weeks.  He said that if at anytime improvement was not noted he would revisit the option of helmet therapy.  At this time we were given handouts on repositioning and our neurosurgeon also drew pictures for us showing the development of the skull and the facial bones.  We felt very confident with all we were told and went home to begin repositioning.

            In the beginning the repositioning was aggressive and non-stop.  At this time we were also going to PT once a week for the torticollis.  The torticollis resolved fairly quickly in about 2 months.  We were discharged from PT when Brendan was about 5 months of age.  However, we started back at PT when he was 6 months of age for gross motor delays.  It is not uncommon for children with torticollis to experience gross motor delays.

            With each visit to the neurosurgeon improvements were being noted.  In the beginning the changes were slight.  And we were beginning to feel discouraged but the neurosurgeon assured us the improvements were occurring just as they should.  It wasn’t until Brendan was between the ages 6-9 months that we began to see the biggest improvements.  His head was rounding and molding nicely.  We were so excited and pleased.

            We received the best news yet when Brendan was 12 months old.  That was when he was discharged from the care his neurosurgeon!!  His head is not yet perfect but our neurosurgeon tells us we will continue to see rounding and improvement.  He does not expect the ears to be fully aligned until Brendan is 3 years of age.  And YES I still do reposition him when I find him sleeping on his flat side!

            Repositioning is not an option for everyone and I cannot stress enough that if you choose this option you must stay proactive and INSIST on close follow up by a qualified neurosurgeon or specialist.  But there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

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The information on this website should not be used for medical advice.  Medical or health advice should be provided only by medical or health professionals.

©Craniosynostosis And Positional Plagiocephaly Support, Inc.2001