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Musculoskeletal System ORGAN SYSTEMS

Craniosynostosis

Contents

Cover image: Sagittal Craniosynostosis | Craniosynostosis - Craniofacial Surgery | Sagittal Synostosis | Coronal Synostosis. (2018). CAPPS. Retrieved 17 June 2018, from https://www.cappskids.org/craniosynostosis/

Premature fusion of one or more sutures, thereby changing the growth pattern of the skull.

  • Major sutures: Metopic, coronal, sagittal, and lambdoid
  • Minor sutures: Frontonasal, temporosquamosal and frontosphenoidal

 


Aetiology

  • Hydrocephalus

Syndromic craniosynostosis:

  • Apert syndrome
  • Crouzon syndrome
  • Carpenter syndrome
  • Pfeiffer syndrome

Pathophysiology

Normal closure:

  • During early childhood:
    1. Metopic suture (beginning at 2 months)
    2. Sagittal, coronal and lambdoid sutures (22-26 months)
    3. Frontonasal and frontozygomatic sutures (last, at 68-72 months)

Premature closure

  • Restricts the growth of the skull perpendicular to the affected suture
  • Compensatory skull growth
    • Occurs parallel to the affected suture in order to accommodate the growing brain
  • Resulting skull deformities:
    • Scaphocephaly
    • Plagiocephaly
    • Trigonocephaly
jmdh_100248_f001
Types of craniosynostosis. | Buchanan, E., Xue, Y., Xue, A., Olshinka, A., & Lam, S. (2017). Multidisciplinary care of craniosynostosis. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Volume 10, 263–270. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S100248
  • Other skull deformities:
    • Cloverleaf skull deformity
      • Fusion of multiple sutures
      • Associated with hydrocephalus
    • Tower skull or acrocephaly
      • Combined sagittal, coronal and lambdoid synostosis
      • Often as part of Apert or Crouzon syndrome
    • Oxycephaly or turricephaly
      • Tall cranium resulting from delayed repair of brachycephaly
      • Often syndromic

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