About us

The experience of the medical team from European Craniofacial Medical Centre in the field of treatment of craniofacial anomalies of the newborn and infant dates back to 1974. 

In his extensive professional experience, Dr. Pinyot’s team has treated more than 4,200 cases of cranial deformities.

After their pediatric and surgical training in prestigious Spanish pediatric hospitals, its professionals have taught, have led pediatric surgical teams, have participated in numerous national and international congresses being distinguished in some of them with the award for the best communications.

helmet teraphy DOC Band®

Since 1974, surgery has advanced enormously, craniofacial surgery has been developed and tissue expansion, endoscopic cranial surgery, internal and external bone distraction (RED) and cranial orthopedic treatment with active cranial bands have appeared.

As a result of our interest in the treatment of positional plagiocephaly by means of cranial banding (1998), all the members of our team have undergone specific training at the Cranial Technologies Inc. (CTI) center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA (1999), and also undergo annual continuing education under the direction of the North American center.

From 1988 to the present, Cranial Technologies Inc. (USA) has treated more than 300,000 cases of craniofacial deformities with DOC Band® and has 22 centers in the United States and Europe.

Medical Team

Dr. Joan Pinyot

Pediatric Surgeon Specialist in Pediatric Surgery at the Hospital Infantil Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona (1978-1982), Head of the Pediatric Surgery Department at the Hospital de Sabadell (1999-2004). LinkedIn

Maria Garriga

Nurse. Pediatric Specialist Diploma in nursing from the Escola Epione of the Nen Jesús Children's Clinic in Sabadell (1975).

David Lacambra

Psychologist Degree in Psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (1993). Master in Clinical Psychopathology, Fundació Vidal i Barraquer, Barcelona (1996). Post-graduate in Early Stimulation, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona (1997).

Professional Experience

Craniofacial deformities have always existed, although never with the current frequency and severity. There are basically three: plagiocephaly, brachycephaly and scaphocephaly. The best known is plagiocephaly and its name is sometimes used in particular when speaking in general of all of them.

The first treatment of plagiocephaly by means of cranial orthosis was published by Sterling K. Clarren (1979), who used passive bands. Jeanne Pomatto-Hertz (1986), founder of the American company Cranial Technologies Inc., CTI, (1988), invented and patented the dynamic cranial orthosis called DOC Band®, laid the modern foundations for the diagnosis and correct treatment of plagiocephaly, and published them in her fundamental scientific works published in 1994 and 1998.

As a result of our interest in their work (1998) and our subsequent training and integration into the worldwide network of Cranial Technologies Inc. s worldwide network, we opened two centers in Spain in 1999 for the treatment of plagiocephaly based on their protocols. That same year, we launched our first plagiocephaly.com website, which filled a gap in its field in non-English language, and from which began an immense clinical work and an important social movement promoted by our professionals in the form of an open forum for parents on the Internet, the collection of signatures by parents and finally the creation of an association of parents of affected children.

It was not until 2003 that a scientific committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics chaired by the prestigious plastic surgeon and neurosurgeon John A. Persing published a scientific article in which he officially advised for the first time the use of cranial reshaping bands.

As a result of our team work in recent years in the field of cranial deformities (plagiocephaly) and cranial malformations (craniosynostosis), we have participated in multiple pediatric congresses explaining our results with DOC Band®, we have published scientific and informative articles for parents, we have introduced in Europe the concept of minimally invasive surgery, we have campaigned for the political health administrations and pediatric academic organizations to become actively involved in these issues, we have collaborated in the creation of associations of parents of children with these problems in Spain and France.

Based on this experience, today we announce the launch of an international medical center for comprehensive clinical diagnosis and the most up-to-date medical, surgical and orthopedic treatment of cranial deformities and malformations.

Our team includes experienced international pediatric medical and surgical specialists.

Our objectives are:
  • to help parents by providing scientific information.
  • make prevention everyone’s job.
  • to ensure that affected patients are treated at the best possible age and by the best methods of proven efficacy.
  • avoid physical and neurological sequelae.
  • to draw the attention of society in general and pediatric society in particular to the issue so that the diagnosis and treatment of plagiocephaly and craniosynostosis is as early and effective as possible.
  • offer early surgical treatment according to the latest techniques for craniosynostosis and craniofacial syndromes.

Scientific publications by Dr. Joan Pinyot

  • [Conservative surgery for ovarian torsion in paediatrics]

    • The authors describe the case of two girls diagnosed with ovarian torsion secondary to a cyst. They underwent conservative ovarian therapy regardless of the time of evolution and the macroscopic appearance of the ovary.

  • [Sceptic arthritis in children].

    • Fifteen cases of septic arthritis in children were reviewed. Thirteen of these cases corresponded to purulent arthritis, one to tuberculous arthritis and one to brucellar arthritis. All of them received diagnostic puncture.

  • Six months of day surgery in a pediatric center

    • Objective. To evaluate the experience in day surgery in a pediatric hospital. Material and methods. Prospective study during the period from February to July 1995.

  • Study of craniosynostosis by computed tomography.

    • Objectives To highlight the usefulness of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the study of craniosynostosis.Material and methodsA total of 19 patients were studied from September 2007 to January 2011, using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT, General Electric Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA).

  • [Boix Ochoa's antireflux procedure returns patients to normal: 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring in 21 cases].

    • There is great controversy about the surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux (GER). It is well known that the Nissen procedure produces hypercorrection of gastroesophageal competition and often a "gas bloating syndrome". In contrast, the Boix Ochoa technique is more physiologic but corrects GER by allowing the persistence of a "radiologic" reflux. The objective of the study was to demonstrate the accuracy of this procedure.

  • [Actimicosis costal]

    • We report an unusual case of costal actynomycosis observed several months after surgery for acute appendicitis in an 11-year-old boy. Surgical removal of the affected rib segment with lincomycin was necessary to obtain cure. Laboratory data are consistent with the aforementioned diagnosis.

  • "Transient synovitis of the hip joint. Report on 104 hospitalized cases."

    • Introduction. Transient synovitis of the hip joint is a common and well-described condition. A review of cases requiring hospital admission is presented. Method. The clinical history of all patients admitted to our institution for treatment of hip joint synovitis between May 1988 and September 1991 was taken.

  • One in four children with untreated plagiocephaly suffers severe language problems by age 3 years

    • Plagiocephaly is a type of cranial deformity that occurs between the third trimester of pregnancy and the first trimester of the baby's life, and consists of a flattening of the back of the baby's head, accompanied by a more or less severe displacement of the deformed half of the skull forward, causing not only alterations in head shape but also in function. The causes are mechanical factors of continuous or excessive pressure in the posterior area of the head. If detected early (ideally around 3-4 months of age), plagiocephaly can be corrected with cranial orthopedics (the use of dynamic orthopedic bands) and neck physiotherapy, if there is accompanying torticollis.

  • Neonatal surgery in the Catalan counties

    • Neonatal surgery depends on the pediatric surgical services and its presence is essential in every neonatal center of the most specialized pediatric hospitals. In any case, in the secondary centers it is necessary that the mediating personnel be trained in the instrumental surgical practices such as catheterizations, diagnostic and therapeutic punctures, etc., and above all be accustomed to the usual surgical pathology that is presented to them in order to send them correctly oriented and prepared to a higher center where the appropriate surgical treatment will be carried out.

  • What is plagiocephaly?

    • We distinguish craniofacial deformities - those mechanical alterations of the previously well-formed skull and/or face - from craniofacial malformations - those anomalies due to intrinsic conformational phenomena of the bones, joints and soft parts of the face and skull.

DOC Band® helmet therapy results

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Medical problems of untreated skull deformities

Barcelona – Madrid – Castellar del Vallès – Sant Cugat del Vallès – Girona

Porto – Paris – Beauvais – Chavanay

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Experts in the diagnosis and treatment of skull deformities with DOC Band® method