Craniostenosis is a condition in infants in which some or all of the bones seal far too early. Craniostenosis can be rectified with skull expansion methods, surgery and other options.

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Craniostenosis Craniosynostosis is a condition that causes some or all of the sutures, or joints, in the skull of an infant or a child to close too early. This can cause problems with normal brain and skull growth and can lead to craniostenosis which is a skull deformity caused by the premature closure of the cranial sutures. While this is a serious condition it can often be corrected through medical intervention. At birth, the human skull is made up of forty-five small bones that are separated by sutures. These sutures are slowly replaced by bone until there are twenty-eight bones in the skull. When these regions fuse prematurely, intracranial pressure can increase.

A diagnosis for craniosynostosis or craniostenosis is made though a combination of physical examination, x-rays, and CT scans. After a diagnosis has been made surgery is usually performed to separate the fused sutures of the skull and to reshape the skull. Usually surgery beings with an incision from ear to ear across the top of the head. A zigzag pattern is used to help the hair look more natural as it grows back in. After the incision is made the scalp is peeled back and holes are placed in the skull separating it into several pieces.
Once the skull is reshaped, the pieces are put back on the head and held together with some combination of dissolving sutures, plates and screws. For children under six months a less invasive surgery using endoscopic removal of the closed suture followed by custom helmets has been successful.
One in about every two thousand children will develop some form of craniosynostosis. While the cause can’t always be determined about ten to twenty percent of the cases are due to a genetic syndrome. The genes responsible can come from one or both of the parents.