When will this needless surgery end?
A Mom Emailed Me
“Doctors think my baby may have sagittal craniosynostosis and want to perform neurosurgery. I simply cannot accept that that’s the only fix and am desperate to find a different solution.
“I found your website and am wondering if you can help.
“His head was on the more narrow and long side, but his sutures had space between them up until about 3 months of age. He then began developing a ridge on top behind a narrowing soft spot.
“His head circumference continues to grow. Doctors want to make an appointment for us to meet the surgical team.
“I’d love to see you as soon as possible if you think you can help.”
Mom Later Added More History
“My son is 4½ months old and was born at 38 weeks. He was supposedly head down at his 32-week checkup but was posterior. Around week 33, he was confirmed breech.
“At week 36, his midwife tried to unsuccessfully turn him manually from the outside. She tried again the night before I went into labor at 38 weeks. I also got acupuncture for the second time during that visit trying to turn him.
“For quite some time, his butt was firmly planted deep in my pelvis with his legs poking into the right side of my belly. His head was at the top of my uterus, facing my right side.
“I was supposed to have a home birth with a midwife, but she did not attend breech vaginal births. So going into labor with him still breech meant delivering in the hospital.
“I began labor at 7 a.m., and he was born via emergency cesarean section at 12:15 p.m. I was trying to decline the cesarean section, but they just wouldn’t deliver breech vaginally.
“The birth report said they had some trouble getting his head out during the cesarean section. He had significant bruising on his lower back and legs.
“I know he was very close to being born based on the fact that I was fully dilated. He has had fantastic health ever since birth, being happy and hitting all of his milestones.
“His occiput at birth stuck out and was low. Doctors told us this was due to fetal positioning and not going through the birth canal.
“His doctor has been monitoring his head since birth because his dad had craniosynostosis and skull surgery at four months of age. There was space in between his sutures at his two-month doctor visit.
“At approximately 3 months of age, a ridge developed at the sagittal suture, but his soft spot remained open. It is a little smaller now and seems more indented.
“His head circumference continues to normally increase. He has received chiropractic work almost weekly since birth for cranial stress.”
His Office Visit, in the Words of Dr. Barry Gillespie:
I immediately noticed that his temporal and parietal bones were internally rotated. Instead of the side bones of the head being wider at the top, they appeared narrower than usual.
I hypothesize that cranial pressure in the womb squeezed his head, creating a longer skull dimension from front to back and shorter dimension from ear to ear. Looking at him from the front, he had a narrow head. In this situation, the parietal bones would be more inclined to jam at the sagittal suture and appear to be fused.
In therapy, he had fascial neck strain pulling into his head. At the end of the session, the web started to release, and his brain cycle opened to a terrific 100 seconds.
Feeling this motion told me the sagittal suture was not fused. If I had felt no parietal bone expansion and contraction after therapy, the bones were probably fused. I have never seen a true fusion with any of my babies in 45 years.
I believe that the pediatric neurosurgical profession confuses cranial fascial tightness with osseous fusion. They need to become aware of the critical importance of the craniosacral fascial system in their diagnostic workup.
The Gillespie Approach is a conservative therapeutic platform that can possibly keep a child with craniosynostosis from neurosurgery, prevent a lot of stress in the family, and save $45,000 in surgical expenses (in this case).
Mom Emails After Her Therapy Session
“I’ve had pelvic, pelvic floor, and incision pain and tightness that was increasing since my cesarean section 4½ months ago. I felt lighter and looser immediately after my therapy session.
The next day and over the past few days, I have had significantly less pain and tightness. My incision scar feels more like it’s part of my skin now.
“I also had somewhat of a ‘fat shelf’ over the top of the scar that has smoothed out a good amount. It felt as though the scar pulled all the way through to my back, causing lower-back pain.
“That’s been resolved. I feel like I can begin healing properly now.”
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