Craniosynostosis Surgery
Craniosynostosis surgery is a treatment for a birth defect that affects the brain and skull known as craniosynostosis such as the case with single or multiple suture synostosis. Surgery is performed to correct the misshapen head and face resulting from this birth defect. To understand craniosynostosis surgery, knowledge of the skull's makeup is necessary. There are five bones in the skull, and between these bones are fibrous joints called sutures. Sutures normally remain open so that the brain has room to expand in all directions until it stops growing. When sutures close too early, the brain compensates by continuing to grow along the path of least resistance, causing the skull to have an abnormal shape, which must be corrected by craniosynostosis surgery. Craniosynostosis surgery relieves pressure on the brain and cranial nerves, since beyond the abnormal proportions and shape of the head, problems with vision, cognition, and breathing may result from the brain compression associated with craniosynostosis. Surgery to correct the condition is usually performed when a child is between three and six months old.
In craniosynostosis surgery, doctors remove the sutures so the brain can grow normally. Sutures may close before birth or at any time before brain growth is completed. Craniosynostosis surgery may be performed on a single suture, which is the usual case, or several sutures may need closing through craniosynostosis surgery.
Multiple Suture Synostosis
There are two categories of craniosynostosis. In single suture craniosynostosis, only one of the seams between the skull bones closes prematurely. With multiple suture synostosis, several of the fibrous joints required treatment. Problems arising in cases of multiple suture synostosis vary. There are over seventy kinds of multiple suture synostosis, and each must be treated according to its unique nature.
The two most common types of multiple suture synostosis are:
- Apert syndrome: A misshapen skull, wide-set eyes, shallow orbits, and an underdeveloped upper jaw characterize this form of multiple suture synostosis.
- Crouzon syndrome: A head that is wider than usual, with a high and prominent forehead and small eye sockets is typical in this type of multiple suture synostosis.