What is craniosynostosis? Craniosynostosis, also known as premature closure of the cranial suture, is characterized by a smaller or abnormally shaped head than that of a normal child of the same age, often associated with cerebral hypoplasia and increased cranial pressure. Most of the cases are congenital and some occur after birth. What does the skull look like in microcephaly? The human skull is made up of many pieces of skull growing together, and the place where the pieces of the skull meet is called the cranial suture. The size of a child’s skull grows with age until adulthood. Premature closure of the sutures can result in different shapes of deformed skulls, such as flat head, navicular head, pointed head, microcephaly, etc. How to confirm the diagnosis of craniosynostosis? In addition to measuring the head circumference and observing the shape of the head, the child may have protruding eyes, bony bulges can be palpated at the premature closure of the cranial suture, and there may be optic papilledema in the fundus of the eyes. The cranial radiographs may show a lack of normal light transmission in the sutures, sclerosis of the bone margins, separation of the sutures in cases of high cranial pressure, resorption of the saddle bone, and pressure marks on the inner plate of the skull, and the thinning of the inner plate of the skull, closure of the sutures, thickening of the skull at the closure, and formation of a bone ridge. What is the purpose of treatment for craniosynostosis? The human brain tissue is protected in the bony cranial cavity. If the cranial cavity cannot grow with age, the development of brain tissue is inevitably limited. The goal of surgical treatment for sialocephaly is to expand the cranial cavity to provide a loose space for brain development, thus promoting brain development, followed by cosmetic treatment. Children with high cranial pressure should be operated as early as possible. In the past, it was thought that premature closure of cranial sutures due to brain dysplasia did not need to be operated, but in recent years, clinical practice has proved that there are also different effects. What is the best time for surgery? Once the diagnosis of craniosynostosis is made, surgery should be performed as soon as possible, and the best time is within one and a half years of age. What are the surgical methods for craniosynostosis? One type of surgery is cranial suture reconstruction, which is simple, short, less bleeding and suitable for younger children. The other is cranial reconstruction, in which the cranial bones are removed and re-fixed in pieces to enlarge the cranial cavity, which is more cosmetically effective but more invasive, requires intraoperative blood transfusion, and has more comorbidities.