Cranial Facial Appointment

Yesterday, my daughter had an appointment with a pediatric cranial facial specialist.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Kellyn has some of the classic facial asymmetries that torticollis can cause: one eye smaller, one cheek fuller, one jawline more pronounced, depression on one side of her neck, and a flat spot on the back of one side of her head.  In my opinion, they are very minor and barely noticeable unless you were looking for them.  But I wanted the doctor to take a look at her and see what he thought.

The cranial facial specialist was outstanding.  He carefully evaluated every facial feature while Kellyn made goo-goo eyes at him.  After his analysis, he confirmed that she did have some minor facial asymmetries and minor plagiocephaly that that were caused by the torticollis.  However, he said that everyone's face is asymmetrical and that her facial asymmetries were not outside the normal range.  He said that the only reason I probably noticed it is because I am her mother and that the average person wouldn't have even noticed.  Phew!  That felt great to hear, especially from a specialist who stares at faces all day long.  If anyone would be critical about that sort of thing, I am assuming it would be him. 

The specialist also said that we were doing everything right as far as her being in physical therapy, as well as doing the exercises with her at home. He also shared that it is very rare nowadays for babies with torticollis to have to get surgery to fix the neck muscle causing it.  He said that with physical therapy, most torticollis is totally treatable.  That also helped me feel better because I was slightly worried that Kellyn would have to have to eventually get surgery to stop her head from tilting.  However, after talking to him, I am confident that the physical therapy will adequately treat her torticollis.  She has already made huge improvements over the course of three and half weeks, so I am excited to see where she'll be in a few months. 

After the appointment, I was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief.  I am so happy that we went and I definitely feel less worried about everything now.  At this point, I know we are doing everything possible to help our daughter and that makes me feel good.