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What to Expect at the Clinic
Who should come to my appointments:
Cranial Technologies' clinics are family friendly. While siblings are always welcome,
the casting appointment would be a good time for brothers and sisters
to stay home. Casting is easier with
both parents present, or a friend or grandparent for support. At other
appointments, family is welcome to see the baby's progress, there are
plenty of toys to keep everyone happy.
Getting Ready:
Treatment begins with an evaluation and casting of your baby's head. The
therapist will take a detailed medical history and evaluate the shape
of your baby's head. Medical photos and measurements may also be taken
at this visit.
Casting
takes 10-12 minutes and is not painful, although most infants are not
happy with the process. One parent helps by holding the baby's hands.
Your child can have a pacifier or bottle during casting, which often has
a calming effect. Wear something that can be laundered as the baby may
get plaster on you. As soon as the cast is removed, it's off to a bath.
The first visit may take 1 to 1.5 hours.
The second visit will be 1-2 weeks later for fitting the band. The band must be fitted no later than 14 days, as the infant's head is growing and the pressures will not be correct if treatment begins outside that time frame. The band will be placed on your child's head and customized trimming may be done. Skin checks will make sure your infant can tolerate the mild pressures applied by the band. Wear and care of the band will be explained at this visit.
Follow-up visits will be every 1-2 weeks, depending on the infant's age.
At these visits, adjustments will direct proper growth of the head. It
is essential that you keep these appointments. Problems can occur if a
DOC Band is left on without timely adjustments.
A 3-dimensional model is made of your child's original head shape. The clinician will use this model at every visit to assess the changes your child is making. This model will be given to you for follow up visits with your physician.
At the end of treatment, another cast of your child's head will be done.
Called an "exit mold", this is a very important medical record.
If you ever have concerns about the head possibly flattening again, this
is the only record of your childs head at completion of treatment.
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Disclaimer: The information contained in Cranial Technologies' website should not be used as a substitute for the medical advice of your physician. There may be variations in treatment that your physician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances. If you have questions regarding treatment of an infant currently in the DOC Band®, clinicians at the center providing treatment should be contacted directly. For feedback or general questions about our website, please email the webmaster at wbmgr@cranialtech.com Website Last Revised: January 12 2007 Created: August 16 2002 ©1997-2008 Cranial Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. DOC, DOC Band and Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty are Trademarks of Cranial Technologies, Inc. U.S. Patents 5,094,229; 5,038,312; 5,951,503; 6,346,353.
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