How to determine the infant’s oblique neck

  The common name of “crooked neck” is congenital myeloplasia and congenital bony tilt neck. Among them, congenital myelomeningocele is caused by contracture of the sternocleidomastoid muscle on one side of the head and neck, which is quite common. In contrast, congenital bony squint is caused by the deformity of cervical spine bone development, which is less common.  The causes of infantile squamous neck are related to various factors, as follows: 1. birth factors: such as abnormal intrauterine pressure, fetal malposition or obstructed labor, and improper use of forceps; 2. genetic factors: 1/5 of the affected children have a clear family history, which is considered to be related to genetics; 3. other factors: such as sternocleidomastoid muscle trophic vessel embolism, resulting in muscle fiber degeneration and formation of squamous neck.  Second, how to determine infant oblique neck Infant oblique neck can be judged according to medical history, symptoms and clinical examination. If abnormal intrauterine pressure or fetal malposition is found during the maternity examination, if there is a history of obstructed labor, or if there is a family history of infantile squamous neck, the prevalence of infantile squamous neck is higher.  The infant can also be judged by symptoms. If the infant’s head is found to be tilted to the affected side after birth, and the oblique neck deformity becomes more obvious after 2-3 weeks, or if a neck lump can be palpated within 2 weeks of birth, reaches its maximum after 1-2 months, and then gradually shrinks to disappear, the infant is considered to have oblique neck. In addition, in some untreated children, asymmetrical deformities of the cheeks may appear after 2 years of age. In addition, the diagnosis can be confirmed based on the following examinations: 1. physical examination: position the baby’s head and touch the muscles behind the earlobes and the neck at the same time. If you find that the muscles on one side are hard or there is a hard mass in the neck, there may be a problem of squinting neck; 2. ultrasound and X-ray examination: for congenital myotonic squint, ultrasound and X-ray examination can accurately differentiate it from other diseases of the neck.  Once the infant is found to have a squint, it needs to be treated actively. The treatment methods are as follows: 1.Non-surgical treatment: including local hot compress, massage, bed fixation and traction; 2.Surgical treatment: suitable for those who are more than half a week old and whose conservative treatment is ineffective and whose facial deformity is serious, and the surgical methods include sternocleidomastoidectomy and partial sternocleidomastoidectomy; 3.Other treatment: for those who have serious oblique neck deformity and uncooperative children, they need to be corrected with head-neck-thorax cast after surgery to Maintain the position of the child.