What Treatments Are Available for Flat Head Syndrome in Babies?

If your child has recently been diagnosed with flat head syndrome, you may be wondering how or if to seek treatment, and what options are available. In this article, we will discuss common treatment strategies such as repositioning, physical therapy, and helmeting and banding. We will also briefly discuss surgery and why it is generally not advised for children with this condition.

In most cases, your child's physician or medical professional will suggest that you try repositioning or physical therapy following a diagnosis of plagiocephaly, brachycephaly, or scaphocephaly. These treatment strategies involve helping your baby learn to rotate and lift his or her head at will, and to sit independently. These skills decrease the amount of time your little one will spend with pressure applied to one part of the skull, in turn reducing the likelihood that the condition will progress. In minor cases, even without targeted treatment, parents and physicians may notice a complete or partial reversal of positional cephalic disorders with the acquisition of sitting and head lifting skills.

Helmeting and banding are more targeted techniques which help your child's skull to develop a normal shape by restricting growth in one direction and encouraging it in another. When helmeting or banding is used, results can be seen within a few months, and may demonstrate significant improvement in skull shape. These techniques are significantly more expensive than physical therapy, involve frequent doctor's visits, and may lead to self-esteem issues later in life for the child undergoing treatment - although there is much debate as to the likelihood of a child's emotional health being affected by helmet or band use, and customizable or clear options exist to reduce the likelihood further. Helmeting and banding are normally used for more severe cases of plagiocephaly, brachycephaly and scaphocephaly and generally insurance companies and physicians will encourage that parents use physical therapy, tummy time, and repositioning before proceeding to this type of treatment.

The need for treatment of positional cephalic disorders is a subject of much debate in the medical community. Long term complications of these conditions are still unknown, although some doctors suspect that the deformities may be self-correcting. Others, however, suggest that severe developmental delays may result if the conditions go untreated or if they are severe and treated too late. The complications theorized to be associated with positional cranial deformities include motor skills delays, physical deformity, TMJ (tempromandibular joint dysfunction), increased cranial pressure, blindness, seizures, and many other significant problems. Figuratively speaking, the jury is still out and for many parents the risks of long term health problems and disfigurement are too great to forego treatment. That said, a study of the satisfaction of parents who chose to not treat their child's positional cephalic disorder revealed that in the majority of cases, they were content with their baby's head shape and developmental progress even years later.

Surgery is not recommended for positional cranial deformities, partially as a result of the lack of data regarding the lasting consequences of the condition. Additionally, in order to surgically remedy these deformities, complex procedures that involve the removal or resection of skull bone in areas that may lead to heavy bleeding makes surgery a dangerous option. If your doctor or treating physician suggests surgery for the treatment of a cephalic disorder in your baby, seek a second opinion before proceeding with treatment. The risks of surgery outweigh the potential benefits in the vast majority of cases, and the strain of major surgery on your child at such a young age is not usually advised unless his or her life is in danger.