Health And General Life Care: Re: [Plagio] Re: 1st visit with craniofacial specialist.

Regarding Starband vs DOC band, we have access to both where I live, although the Cranial Technologies (DOC band) was 90 minutes away and the Star Cranial Center (Star band) was only about 15 minutes. That factored into our decision, so we had consultations at both and decided to go with Star. The orthotists at our Star Center have tons of experience with plagio, so we felt comfortable with their level of expertise. I did feel both bands, and the Starband is a little heavier and covers a bit more of the face and head than DOC band. The foam is thicker so it seems to make more of a "pillow" that can become annoying. For example, the band pushes my son's head forward when he is in his high chair and it annoys him, so we actually take it off for his meals.

On the other hand, because of the thicker foam, our orthotist told us that they almost never need to recommend a second band, whereas the folks at Cranial Technologies told us that they recommend a second band in 20-30% of cases. On a minor note, DOC bands come only in white (which you can decorate of course) and star bands can come pre-colored or with a pattern on them.

If you have access to both Star and DOC, I would get consults with both and see who you like. In the end, my understanding is that it all depends on the orthotist you work with. To some degree, from reading this board, it seems that perhaps the "quality control" of the orthotists at Cranial Technologies is higher.

As to whether you should get the band, that's tougher. Banding is a pain in the butt, but in the end, if you're not happy with your baby's head shape, this is the only chance you'll have to fix it.

Good luck!

-Pam

On 2/7/08, nwilkens2275 <nwilkens2275@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi-
We just saw a craniofacial surgeon a few weeks ago and he just took
some medical history and checked my son's neck (for tort, which he had
but is resolved) and head, and just talked with us about the option to
band. We had already previously had a CT scan done last year, so we
knew that craniosynostosis was not an issue. He wrote the prescription
and we went to the orthotic and prosthetic part of the hospital for an
evaluation. The surgeon did not do any measurements (except basic head
circumference), but I suppose it's possible that they could. The
orthotist, who was a STARBand provider, did the measurements and my
son's assymetry was 11/16 of an inch, which she said was moderate. In
the end, we decided to go to Cranial Tech for the DOCBand, only
because they have had more experience with treating older babies and
my son is 17 months old. CT measures in mm and my son's assymetry for
both his head and his ears is 15 mm, which is the high end of
moderate. They told me 2-4mm was "normal."

To get the assymetry measurement, they use calipers to measure from
the right temple to the back left of the head, then from the left
temple to the back right of the head, and the difference between those
two numbers, is the assymetry measurement, i.e. 15 mm. They they do
the same with the ears (right to back left, left to back right),
although the STARBand orthotist did not take that measurement, only
the head.

The DOC and STAR work the exact same way, they are both active bands,
which means that adjustments are made to encourage the head to grow to
a certain shape. The orthotist or therapist scrapes out the foam
lining to open up spaces to allow the head to grow into them, while
the other parts hold the head in a static position. The only real
difference is in appearance. I consider STARBands a full coverage
helmet, that just has a whole cut out of the top for ventalation, and
the foam is thicker. The DocBand, has more open space on top, it just
depends on what shape and severity of head they are treating, and the
foam is thinner. But again, they work exactly the same, though there
are a couple of other kinds on the market that are different in both
looks and way of working (some are passive, which means they have no
foam lining and they just encourage the head overall to grow to the
shape of the helmet).

Hope this helps! Good luck!
Nicole in Raleigh
Jake-17m (tort resolved/plagio) DocBand 2/11/08
Jordan-4

--- In Plagiocephaly@yahoogroups.com, "nicole04kyle07"
<nicole04kyle07@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> My 6 month old has an appt. with the cranial spcialist this Friday.
> What should I expect and what should I ask?
> I've read from the post that "normal" is considered 0-3 mm, but I
> don't understand what that measurement is of.
> If my son is considered mild-mod plagio should I go ahead with
> treatment with band?
> what is the difference between STAR and DOC?
>
> Thank you so much.
>

__._,_.___

Messages in this topic (4) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic

For more plagio info, go to www.plagiocephaly.org/support
To unsubscribe from this group or to change your mailing options, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Plagiocephaly/ and click EDIT MY MEMBERSHIP.

*Please note that any advice/comments from this site do not necessarily voice the opinions of the group owner or moderators*