These Parents Thought Their Baby Just Had an Unusual Head Shape

Parents worry about just about everything — especially with a new baby at home. But when Megan Boler took her 2-month-old son, Matthew, in for a checkup and the doctor commented on Matthew's odd head shape, she was taken aback. Matthew didn't have a flat head like so many babies do these days (due to the "back to sleep" campaign), he had a large, rather bulbous head that looked different than the round heads the rest of the family has.

The doctor said he couldn't find the soft spot on Matthew's head and referred the family to neurosurgeons at Texas Children's Hospital. It turns out the odd head shape was the result of a type of craniosynostosis called sagittal synostosis — a condition where the skull fuses to the back of the head too early.

"His brain was growing underneath, but the skull doesn't allow for it because of the way it's fused," Dr. Sandi Lam, Director of Craniofacial Surgery Program at Texas Children's Hospital told ABC News. "There's no medicine that will unfuse the bone; the treatment is surgery, and basically we have to cut out the bad bone."

Without surgery, the brain would have no place to grow, which could create a dangerous, high-pressure situation. So at 10 weeks old, Matthew had surgery and 72 hours later, he was playing just as he had been three days earlier. Doctors said he'd have to wear a helmet for up to 12 months, but four months later, they said he was done.

Sagittal synostosis may not be in most parents' lexicon, but it isn't that rare. One in every 2,000 babies is born with the condition — it's the reason your child's pediatrician measures your newborn's head at each visit. Watch the video above to see how wonderful Matthew looks today!