Iyad’s severe plagiocephaly treated in just 3 months

Iyad’s severe plagiocephaly was treated in just 3 months with the LOCband Lite

Iyad is mum Hanadi’s third son. He has two older brothers, one 16 months and the other 4 years old. Iyad’s abnormal head shape was noticeable from birth. Neither of his elder siblings had had a problem with their head shape and his parents had no idea what condition Iyad was suffering from.

His mother, Hanadi, recalls: “It was very upsetting. His head was really lopsided; we had no idea what had caused it and none of our family or friends had had similar experiences with their babies. As the midwife and health visitor didn’t think it was a problem, we were really left to sort it out ourselves.”

It is likely that Iyad’s head shape was simply caused by the stresses and strains of the birth process itself, a condition known as deformational plagiocephaly.

In his case, it soon became clear that it was not resolving itself naturally. Hanadi started searching for more information on the internet and found the London Orthotic Consultancy.

She was relieved to find that LOC had a Cambridge clinic, close to where the family lives. Baby Iyad was assessed in May by Connor Mumford who heads up LOC’s Cambridge clinic.

Connor measured Iyad’s head shape which was indeed at the severe end of the scale with a cranial asymmetry of 20mm. This measurement compares the right and left diagonals at 30 degrees from the centre of the head (front to back). Subtracting one from the other gives the asymmetry value. Less than 6mm is regarded as being within the normal range of head shape, anything over 12mm is deemed to be very severe.

“Connor was really careful to explain everything about the helmet therapy treatment to me and was wonderful with Iyad. He didn’t over-promise either. He told me that because of the severity of the asymmetry, treatment could take up to 8 months.”

In fact, Iyad’s helmet therapy treatment only took three months. Hanadi was thrilled; “the result is truly amazing. After the first week, Iyad wasn’t bothered by the helmet at all and we were able to adhere to the wear guidelines almost immediately – 22 hours a day.”

Iyad was treated with the latest version of the LOCband Lite which uses an updated bivalve design, with two parts joined by a hinge. This makes it much easier for parents to put the helmet on and take it off, which can be especially helpful for cleaning and helmet breaks.

Hanadi adds, “When telling all the various health professionals we had seen that we were going ahead with the treatment, all they could talk about was the expense. I thought that’s not really the point. He’s my son, I would do anything for him and in the grand scheme of things, it’s not expensive because it works. One of the physiotherapists we were seeing did admit to us that Iyad’s head shape was really good now.”

Iyad was formally discharged in October, having not worn the helmet the previous month. On discharge, his asymmetry had been reduced to 5mm. Not only was this a reduction in asymmetry of 75% but a much more normalised head shape.

If you’re worried about your baby’s head shape, get in touch today. You can fill out our free flat head diagnosis form or, to book a free consultation with an orthotist, contact us.