Turkish Neurosurgery 2005 , Vol 15 , Num 4
The Choice of Operative Technique in the Treatment of Anterior Plagiocephaly: Clinical Experience
Volkan ETUŞ1, Joon-Ki KANG2, Tae-Kyu LEE2, Sin-Soo JEUN2, Chun-Kun PARK2, Moon-Chan KIM2
1Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey
2Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Catholic University, Kangnam St Mary's Hospital, Seoul, Korea
OBJECTIVE: Synostotic plagiocephaly involving the coronal suture has been a matter of surgical debate and interest for pediatric neurosurgeons. In this report, the authors analyze the results of an operative series of anterior synostotic plagiocephaly. They also emphasize their experience on patient selection, timing of the surgery and choice of operative technique with a review of the literature.

METHODS: Seven anterior plagiocephaly cases that were operated on between 1989 and 2004 were analyzed. The operative procedures employed were bilateral frontal advancement technique or unilateral canthal advancement technique.

RESULTS: In the series, there were no perioperative or long-term surgical complications. None of the patients required reoperation for aesthetic problems. It is remarkable that the outcome scores of the patients treated with unilateral canthal advancement technique were quite satisfactory.

CONCLUSION: In the treatment of anterior plagiocephaly, unilateral canthal advancement technique seems to be advantageous in many aspects especially in patients who are under the age of 1 year. Keywords : Anterior plagiocephaly, Craniosynostosis, Outcome, Surgical technique

Corresponding author : Volkan Etuş, drvolkanetus@yahoo.com