So what are the determining factors in helmets

[panda4ducky]

This is more directed towards sagittal mommies, however other experience is also welcomed. I noticed that your kids have been in helmets ranging from 2 months to over a year. What are some of the deciding factors in staying in a helmet? I ask only because my little guy's head to me looks nearly perfect now. His forehead could stand a tiny bit more flattening, but overall his head is nice and round, his temples are no longer sunken, and the overall shape looks awesome from every angle. He has only been in his helmet about 6 weeks now, and his NS followup isn't until May 27th.

Every time we go to the helmet fitter he triple checks his measurements and is amazed by how much Chase's head is filling out. He said he can't tell me when he'll be out of a helmet, and that only the NS can make that call. Once you, and the NS are pleased with the head shape, is there other factors that would influence keeping the helmet on longer? Chase's bone is growing in nicely and he only has a small gap where there was once 2" gap of bone.

Thanks! :)

[Abby'sMom]

It's amazing how quickly the helmet produces results...we felt our daughter's head looked great just 2 months into helmet therapy. We were told that she should wear her helmet until she is about one year old because her skull bones would be harder by then and more likely to retain their "new and improved" shape...which they have. :clap

I'm sure there are other factors including suture involved (Abby was bi-coronal), severity of case/how much correction is needed, age when helmet therapy began (the earlier the better of course) and doctor preference probably plays a role as well. Hopefully an endo mom with a sagittal baby will chime in with some info more specific to your situation.

I'm so happy to hear Chase is doing so well!

[Mena]

my daughter is saggital and had her surgery on 1/8/09. she began helmet therapy on 1/27/09 and is currently still wearing the helmet. her head has responded so incredibly well to the helmet therapy - the helmet folks and our neurosurgeon are so happy. we were told that she would wear the helmet for three months. we just met with the ns last week and he wants us to continue the helmet for 23 hours till the end of april and then for the month of may he wants her to wear the helmet at bedtime only. even though her head looks fantastic and I would love for her to be done with the helmet, I actually don't mind that she's wearing it through may (we see the ns in june and we'll make a final determination at that time). i feel better when she's in it, she actually doesn't mind wearing it and i'd rather her head gets as much support as possible.

[daniellelucille]

My DD got her helmet on 1/27 and we were out of it on 3/24. She did so excellent with it!!! She was in it until she outgrew it, which she filled it FAST, and they determined she definitely didn't need another and the surgeons both agreed. I think they'll keep him in it until he outgrows it, as they outgrow it in 2-4 months for most places, but I'm not sure. I think every helmet company is different. We went to Cranial Tech.

[Phaedra]

I don't know, Brianna had her surgery at 5 months (4 months corrected age) and her head shape improved drastically and really quickly. We got her second helmet and I didn't have it on her much, because she has a number of other medical problems and I hated "subjecting her" to it. But at her next appointment her head shape had started to regress, and I think it's because she wasn't wearing her helmet enough. So once we get the next one fitted, I'm going to be religious about it. I'd hate to have to put her through another surgery just because I didn't want to keep it on her until the doctor said she was done.

It just depends on the doctor, I think. They can probably tell if the head is going to retain the shape or not, and it probably differs for every child.

Brianna will have to wear hers until she's 13-14 months old, from what the CF surgeon told us.

[Colin's Mom]

Colin is saggital with the endo surgery. He also has done very well with his helmet. Most of his growth was in the first few months. We've held pretty steady the last three months. We have had the helmet since the beginning of Oct., and his head has looked great for a while. As someone else said, the docs wanted to keep it on until he was a year old so the bones were harder, etc. We are in our second helmet, and about to outgrow it, so we may be done sooner than expected. I'd like him to keep it a while longer, because he just started walking, and I'd like the extra protection :-).