Seeking Cranial Specialist for 4 Month Old

I just had my 7 month old son start the cranial band a month ago. We used Cranial Technologies and have been very pleased. We visited Star as well, but didn't feel the "bed side" manner we were looking for. I was pretty stressed over it all and needed someone to make me comfortable, not make me feel like a number in the waiting room.

Once you start it's not that bad, just a pain. It goes by quick. Good luck.

try Dr. Liz Chapek. She has worked wonders with my daughter for a similar issue. ###-###-#### www.do-online.org/chapek

My almost-5-month-old daughter was just fitted for a DOC band at Cranial Technologies in Dallas - it comes in next week and we are hoping she only has to wear it for 6 weeks or so. Many of the replies to your request said they had trouble getting insurance to pay. We have Cigna and they didn't give us any hassle at all. We pay $200 and that's it.

Cranial Tech. will do a free evaluation where they take measurements of the baby's head, I think the main one is from behind one ear to the opposite eyebrow, on both sides. From what I understand, insurances conisder the DOC band a medical necessity if the measurements fall outside the "normal" numbers. Anyways, they have an insurance person that will contact your insurance company for you and call you back with what they say, so you really don't have to do anything yourself. And they do offer really good payment plans with no interest if you do have to fork over the money yourself.

Like I said before, my daughter gets her helmet next week, and we have to take her in every week after that till she's finished, but I know it will be worth the hassle when it's all said and done. My thinking is this - you never know if she is going to go through a phase and shave her head, or later on get cancer and lose all her hair - that's why I decided to do it! So I would definitely recommend getting it checked out, then you can decide what to do from there. Good luck!

I am a physical therapist and my son developed a similar condition. I went to my pediatrician and got a referral to go to Cranial Technology in Dallas. They were amazing. The younger you start the better. If you pediatrician wants to wait, tell them no that you want to get a head start before it gets worse. There are one or two other companies in the area but I am not as familiar with them. Make sure you check with insurance to see if you have to go to a specific place. If it is not a covered benefit, then it is about $3000 out of pocket. It was worth every penny of it!

I highly recommend Drs. Barcelo and Genecov at Medical City. I refer several patients to them and also treat several of their patients. All of my parents are extremely happy with their bedside and results. They are the group that separated the Egyptian twins. Call Kristi Anderson, their patient coordinator at ###-###-####.

R. Elkin, MOT, OTR/L, CKT

I began taking my son to Dr. Melissa Shelton at four months of age for the same problem. She is a chiropractor and we saw results very quickly. Dr. Shelton is awesome and I would recommend her to everyone (www.drmelissashelton.com).

I suggest you contact Dr. Dale Swift - he is a pediatric neurosurgeon -- and he is my neighbor. He's the nicest guy in the world and has 2 sons. If he isn't the right Dr. for you he will recommend someone else. His office is ###-###-#### - and tell him that his neighbor, N., referred you! Good luck. He also was the lead surgeon with the Egyptian twins. I've seen that a few other responses have made referrals to other Doctors in his practice.

Cranial Technologies in Dallas. We used them for my son. They were wonderful!!

Our oldest daughter was born with craniostenistosis (soft spots closed at birth). We used Dr. Hobar at Children's Medical Center, Cranial/Facial Clinic. They have an awesome department and we were very happy with them. You can PM me if you want further information. She is fine now with no problems.
Patricia

We went to the Craniofacial clinic at Dallas Childrens.

Here a link to the doctor that we saw.

http://www.kidsplastsurg.com/dr-ha.cfm

They have an office in dallas and a clinic in plano.

My daughter is now 3 yo and you can't tell she ever had a problem except her ears are slightly uneven. No one can tell unless we point it out and they look real close.

A good chiropractor might be able to help. I take my daughters to Dr. Rachel Lomanaco in Flower Mound

http://www.lomonacofamilychiropractic.com

Dr. Lomonaco did Craniosacral Therapy on my 3 month old. Obviously, each case is different however if you want a more natural approach to healing then she might be worth talking to.

Check out Dr. Genecov at Medical City
http://www.craniofacial.net/index.htm
Good Luck!

hi, my daughter was 9 mths when we FINALLY were able to put in band. We fought with her pedi since she was 3 mths old to have her further checked out! We choose to use cranial technologys, and they were wonderful!! We also had to fight with TWO different insurance carriers(mine with work and my husbands) but mine finally did pay for it and we paid 600 out of pocket instead of the 3000.00. Good luck if u have any question please ask!!

M.

Yep - same thing happened with my son at that exact age. We used Cranial Technologies http://www.cranialtech.com/ He wore the DOC Band (helmet) for two months and it worked well. Please message me if you have any specific questions. It is scary deciding to put a child through that, but in retrospect it was all me being worried. He was just fine! I do suggest making a decison fast, you want to be done with treatment before the really hottest part of summer kicks in. Their little heads can really sweat in those things!

Cranial Technology. Their website is www.cranialtech.com . We used them with my daughter. She was fitted for a DOC band at 5 months old. She only had to wear it for 7 weeks since we had started her with it so early. It worked wonders. Check our their website for more information. They will also let you know if the DOC band is even necessary or if the condition will fix itself as your child sits up more.

The process costs around $3,000 and most insurance will not pay. Ours was declinded at the pre-approval but they paid the claim when it was filed. I have heard other stories where they don't pay or only after a long difficult appeal. Insurance views it as a cosmetic correction instead of a medical need. Depending on what caused the condition in the first place plays a big part in whether they pay or not.

HI B.,
You may want to check out analternative for your grandbaby. Its called craniosacral therapy. Call Ken Piercy ###-###-#### berfore you try a traditional doc. Ken is diplomat certified in Craniosacral therapy and has done miracles for our son. He can explain it to you and tell you if he can help. Also , he knows many cranio docs if he feels he cannot help.
L.

I have no information to send, but I am truly interested in the responses to this question. My sister had West Nile Encephalitis and now suffers extreme headaches due to the misalignment of her cranial plates. An option for treatment is cranial massage by a certified cranial massage therapist. I do not know where to find a person like this, so am hoping to get info from the responses you receive. Good luck!

I agree with the folks that recommended Cranial Tech in Dallas. We went there and visited with Loa who was able to assist us in getting our helmet for our son. However, please know that there are other facilities out there other than Doc Band. You do not have to use them. I recommend visiting other sites to see who you are comfortable with and who your insurance will cover. Two other companies are Starband (out of Garland, I believe) and Hanger Ortho & Prosthetics. We decided to go with Hanger and could not have been happier. It was two years ago but our contacts were Phyllis in Hurst office and Allan out of FW office. Please let them know that Owen's mom (L.) referred you to them. They do not do casting (I am not sure if anyone still does anymore) but rather they scan the child's head and use computer images to create the helmet. My son was about six months old and wore his for about eight months. It was the best decision we could have made for him. It is not a difficult to take care and truly can make a difference in your grandchild's life. Please contact me if you have any questions/concerns.

Good luck! L.