CPAP and Conehead...

angelatron26

Ethan has been on the CPAP most of his short life, and has the conehead to prove it!  I'm wondering if his head shape is going to go back to nornal once he gets off the CPAP completely?  Has anyone else dealt with this?  Does it come back?  Is there something I should or could be doing to help it along?

 Thanks!

witt0198

Evan was on the CPAP for a good while as well. The straps were pretty snug on his soft head, and he actually ended up with a head looking like......well, it was kinda frankenstein-ish. I remember thinking....Oh, man, I hope that doesn't stay. He also had a flat spot across his right side from some slight neck tension and wanting to look right all the time. His head is still probably a bit more tall and narrow than his peers, but I don't think others notice, mainly just me. See siggy pic. We were just really careful with positioning.....limiting time in the car seat, getting good tummy time, rotating the sides of his head that he laid on when being held/layed down etc, when he was really little and I think it straightened out really well.

kamcfarlane

the CPAP wasn't on DS straight and in the couple of days he had it, it made his nose crooked! it went right back to normal a couple of days after we got off the cannula.

 

mcdev

My daughter didn't get the "conehead", but I have a niece who was premature and she sure did!!  It was pretty dramatic.  i can remember not wanting to say anything to my sister to insult her, but my niece's head was in a perfect cone shape from her c-pap.  Not to worry, it was not permanent!  I'm not sure how long it took, but it reshaped itself.  She is now 4 years old and has the most perfect beautiful head you ever did see!

E&RMommy

Make sure to talk to your pedi about this.  I was born at 30 weeks 30 years ago and I still have what is called "toaster head".  Today people are much more informed about positioning, so you rarely see permanent head shape from prematurity after early childhood.  Mine is only noticeable to me (and some of my fellow physicians who know I was preterm), but it is something I would certainly want to watch in my kids. 

LWilli35

This is a major issue with positioning, not so much with the CPAP headgear itself.  Positioning is a major issue in the NICU, and as long as the NICU team is vigilant about shifting positioning and ensuring that headgear is secure enough to hold a seal but not so tight that the head is being affected, you should have a nice outcome.  I would definitely speak with your NICU team about this issue.

Bobby was on SighPAP and CPAP for over 3 months, and he has a perfectly round head.  The CHOP NICU was very conscious of positioning, and I think this is the reason why his outcome was so good.