Craniosynostosis
Overview
Craniosynostosis is a rare condition where a baby's skull does not grow properly and their head becomes an unusual shape. It's usually treated with surgery.
Symptoms
Babies' heads come in all shapes and sizes. It's normal for their head to be a slightly unusual shape. It will often get better as they grow. But your baby may have a problem like craniosynostosis if: their head is long and narrow, like a rugby balltheir forehead is pointy or triangularone side of their head is flattened or bulging outthe soft spot on the top of their head (fontanelle) disappears before they're 1 year old If the problem is mild, it may not be noticeable until your child is older. Rarely, your child may have symptoms such as: learning difficultiessight or hearing lossbreathing problems, like not being able to breathe through their mouthdental problems, such as missing or crowded teeth
Treatment
If your baby has craniosynostosis they will have regular check-ups to monitor it. Treatment usually involves surgery. The type of treatment will depend on: the type of craniosynostosis your baby hastheir symptomstheir age Some cases of craniosynostosis may just be monitored and not need treatment. Surgery usually involves making a cut across the top of your child’s head, removing and reshaping the affected parts of their skull, and then fixing them back in place. It's done undergeneral anaesthetic(they will be asleep). Your child may need to stay in hospital for up to a week afterwards. In some cases it may be possible to treat craniosynostosis with a less invasive procedure called anendoscopy(where a thin, flexible tube is passed through a small incision in the skull), followed by wearing a specially designed helmet. The care team looking after your baby will talk to you about the options. Depending on their symptoms, they may also need: regular hearing and eye tests and sometimes glassesspeech and language therapyspecialist dental treatmentspsychological counsellingfurther surgery as an older child or teenager