Diagnosis and treatment of premature closure of cranial suture 1. What is cranial suture and fontanelle? The human cranial cavity is made up of multiple cranial bones. The connection between the skull bones and the skull bones is the cranial suture. The cranial suture intersects with the cranial suture to form fontanelle. The major cranial sutures are: sagittal suture, coronal suture, frontal suture and herringbone suture. The main fontanelles are fontanelle and post fontanelle. 2. What is the role of the cranial suture? The cranial deformation at birth through the birth canal to facilitate smooth output and to provide growth space for later brain development. Head circumference: at birth, a full-term infant is 40% of an adult; at age 7, it reaches 90%. 3. Under normal circumstances, when do the cranial sutures and fontanelle close? Frontal suture: about 6 months; coronal suture, sagittal suture and herringbone suture: 12 to 18 months. Anterior fontanelle: 12 to 18 months; posterior fontanelle: 4 to 6 months. 4. What is premature closure of cranial suture? The premature closure of single or multiple cranial sutures, forming a special cranial appearance, is called premature closure of cranial sutures. 5.What are the main types of craniosynostosis? The main types of cranial suture premature closure are: frontal suture premature closure (triangular head), unilateral coronal suture premature closure (oblique head), bilateral coronal suture premature closure (short head), sagittal suture premature closure (navicular head), herringbone suture premature closure (flat head) and total cranial suture premature closure (small head). The most common is sagittal suture premature closure, accounting for about 1/2 to 2/3 of all cranial suture premature closure. 6. What are the hazards of cranial suture premature closure? Premature closure of the cranial suture can affect the normal development of the child’s brain. About 20% of the children will show high intracranial pressure, which can lead to serious brain dysfunction (such as epilepsy, blindness, etc.). The special appearance of the skull may also affect the normal psychological and mental development of the child as he/she grows up. 7. Are all “flat heads” cranial sutures prematurely closed? No, it is not. Flat head” formed due to long-term fixed position sleep is not craniosynostosis and does not require treatment. 8. How to treat craniosynostosis? So far, surgery is the only effective way to treat craniosynostosis. The purpose of surgery is to recreate a new artificial cranial suture at the location of the prematurely closed suture, in order to enlarge the cranial cavity and provide normal growth space for brain development; at the same time, it can effectively improve the deformed skull shape and create conditions for the normal psychological and mental development of the child in the future. 9. When is the best time to operate? At present, it is believed that the best results are achieved when the child is 6 months old. The picture shows the orthopedic effect of premature closure of frontal suture (triangular head)