Multidisciplinary care of craniosynostosis

Abstract

Edward P Buchanan,1 Yunfeng Xue,1 Amy S Xue,1 Asaf Olshinka,1 Sandi Lam2 1Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, 2Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA Abstract: The management of craniosynostosis, especially in the setting of craniofacial syndromes, is ideally done in a multidisciplinary clinic with a team focused toward comprehensive care. Craniosynostosis is a congenital disorder of the cranium, caused by the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures. This fusion results in abnormal cranial growth due to the inability of the involved sutures to accommodate the growing brain. Skull growth occurs only at the patent sutures, resulting in an abnormal head shape. If cranial growth is severely restricted, as seen in multisuture craniosynostosis, elevation in intracranial pressure can occur. Whereas most patients treated in a multidisciplinary craniofacial clinic have non-syndromic or isolated craniosynostosis, the most challenging patients are those with syndromic craniosynostosis. The purpose of this article was to discuss the multidisciplinary team care required to treat both syndromic and non-syndromic craniosynostosis. Keywords: multidisciplinary team care, syndromic craniosynostosis, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis

Keywords

• multidisciplinary team care
• syndromic craniosynostosis
• non-syndromic craniosynostosis