Operative treatment of the anterior synostotic plagiocephaly: analysis of 45 cases.

An operative series of 45 patients with anterior synostotic plagiocephaly is analyzed. In the cases of six children it was not possible to visualize synostosis of the cranial sutures on plain X-ray films or three-dimensional CT. Primary procedures were performed at an average age of 14 months with an average postoperative follow-up of 47.5 months. Children were operated on either with lateral canthal advancement (5 cases), unilateral orbital advancement with "tongue in groove" (12 cases), or bilateral orbital advancement (28 cases). Excellent results were obtained in 33/45 patients, while 8/45 children required secondary minor revisions. Of the three different surgical techniques, the results achieved by the bilateral approach were considered better than those attained with the unilateral techniques. Osteotomies of the nasal bones are recommended in the cases of older children with severe nasal deviation associated with dislocation of the nasoethmoidal complex.