Can scaphocephaly be corrected without surgery?

Can scaphocephaly be corrected without surgery?

Conclusions. Scaphocephaly can exist without corresponding sagittal synostosis. When diagnosed early, this condition is amenable to nonsurgical therapy involving molding helmets. When the diagnosis is delayed, however, the deformity is often severe and may require surgical correction.

What is Craniostenose?

Notice the swelling on the right side of the head. Specialty. Medical genetics. Craniosynostosis is a condition in which one or more of the fibrous sutures in a young infant’s skull prematurely fuses by turning into bone (ossification), thereby changing the growth pattern of the skull.

What causes scaphocephaly?

The cause of scaphocephaly is the premature closure of all or most of the sagittal suture. Physiologic sagittal suture closure starts at 22 years of age. Sometimes, a complete fusion may not occur; however, most individuals have it closed between 30 and 50 years old.

What is the difference between Craniostenosis and craniosynostosis?

Craniosynostosis (sometimes called craniostenosis) is a disorder in which there is early fusion of the sutures of the skull in childhood. It produces an abnormally shaped head and, at times, appearance of the face. The deformity varies significantly depending on the suture or sutures involved.

How is scaphocephaly diagnosed?

The 3D CT scan is the most relevant and rapid diagnostic test. The authors present the personal experience of 98 scaphocephaly cases diagnosed and surgically treated in the Neurosurgical Department of “Bagdasar-Arseni” Emergency Hospital during a period of 10 years (2000 – 2009).

How do you fix scaphocephaly head?

Open cranial vault remodeling procedures normalize the head shape by removing large segments of the skull bones that are reshaped by hand and then reattached to the skull using sutures or plates that the body will dissolve in time. Open cranial vault remodeling is usually performed between 6-12 months of age.

What is sagittal craniosynostosis (scaphocephaly)?

Sagittal craniosynostosis, or scaphocephaly, occurs when certain bones in a child’s skull fuse prematurely. At birth, a child’s skull is made up of several separate bones with growth plates (also called ‘sutures’) between them. Because the skull is not a solid piece of bone yet, the brain can grow and expand in size.

What is scaphocephaly of the skull?

Scaphocephaly is an early closure of fusion of the sagittal suture. This suture runs front to back, down the middle of the top of the head. This fusion causes a long, narrow skull. The skull is long from front to back and narrow from ear to ear.

Is there a minimally invasive surgery for scaphocephaly?

Endoscopic craniosynostosis repair. Not all surgeons in the region offer minimally invasive surgery for scaphocephaly. At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, we helped pioneer and refine this technique, and our surgeons have over a decade of experience performing it.