Related Experiment Videos
[Evolutive fractures of the skull]
A Kabre1, A Soumare, S B Badiane
1Clinique Neurochirurgicale du CHU de FANN.
Insights
Growing skull fractures are rare complications of head trauma in infants and newborns. Early diagnosis and treatment, often involving surgery, improve outcomes, though prognosis depends on associated brain injuries.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Pediatric Traumatology
Context:
- Growing skull fractures are infrequent sequelae of pediatric head trauma.
- Observed in 1.09% of skull fractures over a decade at a university teaching hospital.
- Patient ages ranged from 8 months to 21 years, with diagnostic delays up to 8 years.
Purpose:
- To report on the incidence, diagnosis, and management of growing skull fractures.
- To evaluate diagnostic methods including radiography and translacunar echography.
- To analyze treatment outcomes and prognostic factors.
Summary:
- Six cases of growing skull fractures were identified out of 552 skull fractures.
- Porencephalic forms were the most common presentation (5 cases).
- Surgical intervention was successful in 3 of 4 patients, with 2 cases showing spontaneous stabilization.
Impact:
- Highlights the importance of recognizing rare pediatric head trauma complications.
- Demonstrates the utility of radiography and echography in diagnosis and monitoring.
- Emphasizes that prognosis is strongly correlated with the severity of concurrent brain injuries.
Abstract:
The growing fractures of the skull rarely complicate head traumatism among infant and new born. 6 cases have been observed out of 552 fractures of the skull (1.09%) during 10 years from 1979 to 1988 at the neurosurgical clinic of Dakar University Teaching hospital. The patients age varies from 8 months to 21 years. The delay between traumatism and the diagnosis of growing fractures ranges from 18 days to 8 years. The primary fracture can be detected by a skull radiography which allows also to follow the evolution. It can be completed by making a translacuna echography, a non invasive method of investigation easily realisable thanks to the existence of a skull lacuna which constitute a real acoustical window. This type of investigation has been worked on deux patients. Essentially porencephalic forms have been noticed (5 cas). Three have been successfully operated out of four patients, two patients have spontaneously performed evolutions towards the stabilisation of the lesions. The prognosis of the affection is tightly linked with the associated brain injuries.