Correction Of Plagiocephaly Research Articles

The Correction of Plagiocephaly

Real Plagiocephaly is a rare form of craniosynostosis, resulting from the premature fusion of the coronal suture on one side, leading to a deformed head and to an apparently exteriorized homolateral eye. We present a simple and straightforward technique, based on removal of the involved suture, with the surgical incision prolonged to the orbital roof till near the ethmoide. After having sectioned the lateral border of the orbit at the junction of the zygomatic and frontal bones, a paramedian incision is made on the frontal bone, from the anterior fontanel (always carefully preserved), till the glabella. Then follows simple osteoclasia of the frontal bone and placement of a bone graft obtained from the adjacent parietal bone and that will maintain the forward projection of the frontal bone (but in slight hypercorrection). The grafts are simply fixed with silk sutures, placed through perforating holes in the bones, no metal being used. The transverse surgical wound, going almost from ear to ear, is closed in the usual way.

Cranial Growth Unrestricted during Treatment of Deformational Plagiocephaly

Objectives: The Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band^TM is a cranial orthosis used to treat deformational plagiocephaly. The ability of this device to redirect growth and thus, improve craniofacial asymmetry has raised concerns regarding the potential restriction of cranial growth. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth of the head during correction of plagiocephaly. Methods: The study sample consisted of 190 children: 81 females (42.6%) and 109 males (57.4%) All patients had been diagnosed with nonsynostotic plagiocephaly, did not have other significant medical conditions, were compliant with DOC protocol, and had complete anthropometric measurements at entrance and exit from treatment. Growth of the head was evaluated using head circumference, maximum cranial width and maximum cranial length. Correction of plagiocephaly was evaluated by documenting the reduction of craniofacial asymmetry of the cranial vault, skull base and face. Paired t tests were used to assess the significance of changes in these anthropometric measurements. Differences were considered significant if p < 0.05. Results: Average entrance age was 6.5 months with a mean treatment time of 4.1 months. Statistical analysis demonstrated highly significant reductions in asymmetry in all three regions (p < 0.001). More importantly, these corrections were achieved with synchronous growth of the skull as demonstrated by highly significant increases (p < 0.001) in head circumference, maximum cranial width and maximum cranial length. Conclusions: These findings document statistically significant increases in cranial growth in association with concomitant reductions of the cranial asymmetries associated with deformational plagiocephaly.

Surgical correction of plagiocephaly, improvement thanks to vestibular orientation

Surgical correction of plagiocephaly, improvement thanks to vestibular orientation