flat spots

staceymack · January 2014

The girls have an appointment Friday with a specialist concerning their flat spots. A's is worse than G's. Since we discovered the flat spots in November we have been diligently trying to keep them off that side. I'm so nervous they'll end up with helmets. Those things look so uncomfortable. Any success stories on correcting flat spots without using a helmet? Any other advice is greatly appreciated!

Missa_g · January 2014

My oldest twin had torticollis which caused plagiocephaly. He had a DOC band helmet from December 2012 to April 2013 and it was seriously no big deal. I know it seems scary and uncomfortable but its not at all. My guy transitioned to wearing it with no problems and would actually fuss for us to put it back on if it was off for more than a few minutes. It was kind of nice when he learned to crawl and walk because he bumped his head a ton.

My youngest twin had torticollis which caused plagiocephaly but with PT both corrected quickly and his head is perfect now.

I really think its a roll of the dice if it self corrects or not. Are you doing PT for torticollis? If not I would look into that. How old are your girls? Just know that either way it will be okay. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

carrotcake06 · January 2014

I looked into a helmet for one of my boys. He didn't have torticollis but heavily favored one side and developed a flat spot.

We had a consult w a specialist and since he didn't have a torticollis dx, insurance coverage was practically impossible. Even then, he was beginning to not sleep w his head to that side (his bald spot was moving to the back of his head) so it wasn't getting any worse. His face is also symmetrical.

We decided not to pursue the helmet and while he'll always have that spot, it'll appear smaller and smaller as his head grows (and hair covers it).

staceymack · January 2014

Thanks for all the information! They're almost 5 months actual/3.5 adjusted. They haven't been evaluated for torticollis. I assume the specialist will do that on Friday?

Missa_g · January 2014

staceymack said:
Thanks for all the information! They're almost 5 months actual/3.5 adjusted. They haven't been evaluated for torticollis. I assume the specialist will do that on Friday?

They might. If not I would ask for a referral to your local ECI. Since your girls were preemies it would be good to have them evaluated. Twins have a higher occurrence of torticollis due to sharing the womb and its even higher with preemies. If they do have torticollis PT can help you with exercises to stretch the neck muscles which in turn will keep them off the flat spot. FWIW we helmeted at 6.5m adjusted so you still have several months before it reaches that point. At 3.5 adjusted there is still tons of room for growth. Once my boys started sitting unassisted at around 6m adjusted we saw further improvement.

PhillyGal34 · January 2014

Ds had a flat spot and torticollis. We were able to fix it with pt for a few months. We don't let ds watch tv but he was drawn to it. So we used that to make him look the opposite way. Good luck!!

amgary · January 2014

I don't post much but we literally had a follow up appointment with a pediatric plastic surgeon today for this very issue. Our situation was slightly different in that we had a ct scan on Xmas Eve to rule out the plates in his head being prematurely fused. The scan came back clear - yay for no surgery!

Anyway, even since early December his head shape has gotten better and he is not a canidate for a helmet based on this fact. His measurements are within the parameters of "normal" for 7.5 month old (5 months adjusted).

Their recommendation to us was LOTS of tummy time and positioning....honestly I wear/hold him a lot which keeps him off of his head as well. So my long rambling point is to keep at it as a helmet can sometimes be avoided. But even if a helmet is necessary they really aren't bad from what I have heard and the earlier you address it the better per the plastic surgeon.

staceymack · January 2014

Thank you all so much for your support and advice! I'm feeling much better about this. I will ask about the torticollis and PT.

flerlgirl · January 2014

Just so you know, my son does have a helmet and it isn't too big of a deal for him or us. The best thing about NICU kids is they're so used to weird tests and new developments that they don't care about dumb stuff like helmets

It requires minimal care and the difference in the first six weeks is incredible. So while I hope your DD doesn't need the helmet, if she does it's NBD, I promise!

SWA80 · January 2014

One of my twins has been having PT for torticollis and in 5 weeks we've seen drastic improvement. They now say he likely won't need a helmet. His head is still wider than it should be and we were instructed to keep him out of the RNP so we've been transitioning to crib.

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