Dressed for battle, 10-month old Paul Hassler is happy, confident, and winning his war with plagiocephaly and torticollis, thanks to the otherworldly headgear he will soon outgrow.
Cheryl Hassler, Paul’s mother, experienced the same perplexity and concern as any new mother when she recognized a flat spot on the right side of his head at birth (plagiocephaly). Following the doctor’s advice, his parents kept an eye on it for a time, and noticed that Paul’s head was also tilted to the right side.
Born a twin, Paul’s cramped position in the uterus he shared with his brother may have resulted in a tightness in the muscle that connects the breastbone and collarbone to the skull, his parents discovered. This condition (torticollis) caused Paul to continue to tilt his head, and to preferentially lie with his head on that side—increasing the tendency of the plagiocephalic flat spot to develop further.
While the flat spot itself was not an issue, Cheryl also noticed what appeared to be a “lazy eye” on his right side. The physical therapist to whom they were referred, however, diagnosed the condition promptly, identifying a 10 mm rightward shift of his eye and ear.
The Hasslers eventually found their way from Coatesville, PA., to Lawall Prosthetics and Orthotics, where orthotist Harry Lawall III, CPO discussed the need for a cranial orthotic—a custom-created helmet with shape-correcting capabilities.
Left unchecked, the danger of the rightward shift of Paul’s eye and ear continuing was very real. At that time, when he was nearly seven months old, his right eye and ear had shifted more than half an inch, according to Lawall.
“He started at 5/8 inch of a diagonal difference, which is a little above average for this condition. Our goal by the end of treatment is to get the diagonal difference down to about 1/4 inch,” he explained.
Since experts believe that a baby’s skull resists reshaping as the bone thickens, 12 months of age is generally regarded as the “deadline” date beyond which such therapies are ineffective.
After just two months of treatment, however, Paul’s measurements indicated that his deviation from center had then been corrected to only 3/8 inch—already a ¼ inch improvement from the original measurement—and was now only 1/8 inch away from their goal.
“He’s been wearing the helmet for five weeks now,” Cheryl confirmed, “and the first time he was re-measured, he was down 1/8 inch, and this time he was also down another 1/8 inch, so it’s working. Harry (Lawall) thinks it should be off by Paul’s first birthday—which is in October. It all depends on the child, but in Paul’s case, he’s taken to it and is doing great.”
From the first day, she made a game of it, telling him he was a football star in training. “To this day, when I put it on, I’ll use my nails and tap it and say, ‘Is it on? Is it okay?’ He even reaches for it and wants it back on when he comes out of the pool,” she marveled.
