5 Month Old Cat Scan??

My daughter had the same thing. She was 6months old. They said they would have to sedate her, but she was sleeping when we got ready to do it. She stayed still, so they didn't have to. Try to schedule the appt. around nap time. I was really worried about the whole thing but it was fast. She didn't even know it happened. At the end of all of it everything was fine. I hope everything works out for you.

Hi!
My son had a traumatic birth, which resulted in him developing sagittal synostosis. His head was narrow at the sides, and he had frontal bossing..where the fore head was pushed out. He had a MRI at 2 days of life, and was lightly sedated for it.
Since then, due to his heart/transplant there of, he has had a bevy if CT's. There is a good dose of radiation that is delivered, but it will be less for your baby, because of size
and body thickness. You can ask for a dose assessment if you are really concerned, but the type of radiation is the kind that passes through, so it's damage is minimal. The need far outweighs the risk. If she has a type of synostosis, she may need surgical repair, and that has to happen sooner rather than later.This is because it needs to happen before the skull thickens and hardens.My son had it done at 4 months, and the healing was extremely rapid. But he looks worlds better! I hope that all goes well!

I don't know 100% but I thought there was a push now to limit CT scans on children as much as possible, to the extent tha teven ERs hold off if at all possible. However, head growth is a super important measurement of development, so I wouldn't ignore it either. Get a second opinion. Don't just trust one doctor.

I agree with others see another dr or if your primary dr is that concerned to see a spacialist. As far as the CT scan they are safe and sometimes absolutly necessary to get the correct cause of the problem. Sometimes on a child that young they are able to get the test done with out having to sedate them. I would ask the radiologist first. It is a very quick test, it just depends if she will stay still long enough. Good Luck.

I would get a second and third opionion.

Our daughter had a minor head INJURY and the ER doc was so nervous about having one done on a two year old that he said not to do it unless such and such happened.
He was involved in a study about the later effects of cat scans done to small children and advised us that if it were his own child he would not do it.
Please get a second and third opinion.
:)
J.

I wouldn't do a catscan for that. The doctor should be able to tell if it is developing normally from feeling the head. They can feel the plates and their fusion lines on children. One friend of mine's daughter has a misshapen head and they never had to do a cat scan for it. Another friend's son's head was too wide side to side and narrow front to back. They gave him a helmet to correct it. Again they also did not need a catscan. So I would get a second opinion before sedating your child because that is the really dangerous part.

i have never heard of using a CAT scan to check for this.
i guess my main question is what do they plan to do if they feel your baby's head is too narrow?
khairete
S.

My daughter was diagnosed with craniosynostosis last year when she was 5 months old.The skull is made up of 6 bony plates that have soft spots between them to allow for proper growth and development of the brain.My daughter had a narrow head and the cat scan showed that the sagittal suture was fused together.This is the one at the top of the head that runs from the front to back.This was causing the misshaped head.If left untreated it causes a severe deformity and socially unacceptable head shape.The ct scan was done at CHKD, she was sedated and the scan took all of 5 minutes. The sedation they use is very fast acting and does not last long at all.We took her home a few hours later.Cranio is pretty rare only 1 in 2-4000 births.The ct will let you doc know if any bones have fused or grown together.It is probably positional from laying on that side but don't worry about the ct scan...it is a piece of cake.My daughter had surgery in January and looks wonderful!!I read a lot of the other info you were given and sadly people gave you bad advice.Doctors don't order tests to make yacht payments and doctors can't tell if {sagittal , coronal, metopic or lamboid} sutures are fused without a ct scan.The sooner the cranio is diagnosed and corrected the better.The reason babies heads are measured at each well baby visit is to asses proper growth and development.Gather info from qualified health care professionals and make an informed decision that is in the best interest of your daughter .I know exactly how scared you are right now.Take things one step at a time don't and worry about what if.I have been where you are and things work out fine.Best of luck to you and your daughter

J.,

I do x-ray for a living and yes the scan is safe. They techs will completly cover your daughter with lead to protect from the radiation. Also, the scan will last 5 min or less. As for the sedation, the medicine will only make her sleepy so she stays still for the exam. If she would be moving around, it could cause motion on the images and the scan would have to be redone. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Hope this eases your mind some.

S.

My son had craniosynostosis (suture fused) and had to have corrective surgery. I would maybe recommend a 2nd opinion before going ahead with the CT scan - though we went through it with our child (the scan and the surgery) and he is a wonderfully perfect 2 year old now. The dr. we saw is Dr. John Myseros at Children's Hospital in DC - he is absolutely wonderful! I would highly recommend taking your kiddo to a neurosurgeon such as Dr. Myseros to get a 2nd opinion before you do the scan. He has such practice with the skull, he'd be able to tell if it was necessary just by seeing/feeling it. Email if you want to chat further or want his contact information (____@____.com). Good luck!

hello
this is K. H. ok real quick, a cat scan on a five month old sounds more like the doctor wants you to make his next
yacht payment then anything else. get another opinion, FIRST. if the doctor tries to discourage you from getting a second opinion, ASK HIM why. a five months old skull is still forming, the growth plates havent fused yet, so of course you going to notice a slight difference in shape,
when the child sleeps primarily on one side. are you noticing any difference in the childs eyes, from one side of the head over the other, do they use less use of one side of their body than the other, i mean a MARKED DIFFERENCE. does the child hold the slightly different side of their head and cry in pain ??? if the answer to all these questions is no then dont worry about it
K. H.

My son had an MRI at 6 months old to check a tiny hole at the base of his tailbone. The sedation just made him sleepy so he would stay still. I think it was worse for me than him. The hardest part was holding and consoling him while they tried to put and IV in his foot. It was a rather quick procedure once he was asleep and he slept quite alot that day but everything turned out just fine. I hope the same for your little one. Good Luck.