Max’s severe plagiocephaly journey

When Sophie noticed her baby Max had a persistent flat spot on his head, she was told it would resolve naturally—but it didn’t. Seeking a second opinion led her to the London Orthotic Consultancy, where Max was diagnosed with severe plagiocephaly.

At birth Max had a normal looking head shape. At about three months, his mother Sophie noticed that his head looked flat on the right hand side. She recalls: ”Max always did have a preference for sleeping on the right side of his head and indeed always seemed to prefer looking to his right, it was just his thing.”

Max’s symptoms were a classic presentation of positional plagiocephaly or ‘flat-head syndrome’ as it is often called. Until about one year of age, the bones of a baby’s head are very thin and flexible, which makes its head soft and easy to mould. Max’s right-sided preference meant that he spent more time inadvertently putting pressure on one part of his skull.

Over the following months, Sophie asked her GP, Health Visitor and nurse at her GP surgery, about Max’s flat head. The response each time was the same: “It will resolve itself as Max grows”. But it didn’t. Sophie was galvanised into seeking a second opinion by her sister.

They were on a family holiday in Cornwall and Sophie’s sister said: “You know I’m afraid Max’s head shape is really bad and it’s not getting any better”. She even started searching for a solution and found LOC’s clinic in Kingston. Sophie phoned LOC while she was still on holiday in Cornwall and arranged a face-to-face appointment for their return from holiday. The appointment was made with Jo Drake, LOC’s clinical lead for plagiocephaly.

At Max’s assessment, Jo confirmed that he had severe right-sided plagiocephaly. Max’s cranial vault asymmetry was 16mm; this measurement compares the right and left diagonals at 30 degrees from the centre of the head (front to back) and subtracting one from the other gives the asymmetry value. Anything over 12mm is considered to be severe.

Commenting on that appointment Sophie said: “Jo was reassuring, while not over promising about what improvements could be made to Max’s head shape. Having now read up on the subject. I was only too aware that we were late into going into treatment(Max was over 10 months of age when his head was scanned).” The optimal age for starting treatment is considered to be 4-5 months.

Cranial remoulding therapy (as it is called) works by applying gentle and constant pressure over the areas of a baby’s skull that are most prominent while allowing unrestricted growth over the flattened areas, so it is best to start treatment when a baby’s head is growing quickly and before growth stops at around the 18 month mark.

Max had no problems with his ‘helmet’. Indeed, as Sophie observed: “It probably saved him from any number of bumps and bruises on his head as he rushed about!”

By the time of discharge Max’s asymmetry had improved to 9mm, in the moderate range. Sophie commented: “We knew it was unlikely that it would be possible to get his head back into what is termed the ‘normal’ range, Jo had been quite clear about that from the very beginning, but you can see from the scans how much better his head looks.

I’m also very pleased that his facial features/eyes are now much more symmetrical. I must add that Jo was great throughout the process, she clearly has a vast amount of experience in treating this condition and is a thorough professional.”

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 a clinician, contact us.

*Patient and mother’s names have been changed as they preferred to share their testimony anonymously.