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Updated: May 20, 2026
Midface Hypoplasia and Cranial Base Morphology in Syndromic Craniosynostosis: A Comparative Analysis Study Using a Predictive Regression Model
Published on: November 4, 2025
Chiari malformation in nonsyndromal single craniosynostosis--much ado about nothing?
M Engel1, G Castrillón-Oberndorfer, J Hoffmann
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. michael.engel@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Background:
The significance of Chiari malformation in nonsyndromal-isolated craniosynostosis is still not well documented. Hence, in the present study we investigated the incidence of Chiari malformation in a larger series of patients with nonsyndromic-isolated single-suture craniosynostosis over a 9-year period using preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Methods:
Of 215 children who had undergone surgery for nonsyndromic-isolated craniosynostosis, 89 cases (41.4 %) had MRI prior to surgery. All MRIs were screened for Chiari malformation.
Results:
Only one patient (1.1 %) with isolated lambdoid synostosis showed Chiari malformation preoperatively, which was defined as a cerebellar tonsillar descent greater than 5 mm below the foramen magnum. However, no clinical symptoms were associated with Chiari malformation in this patient.
Conclusions:
As Chiari malformation is more likely to be associated with syndromic craniosynostosis, nonsyndromic bilateral coronal synostosis, or synostosis of the lambdoid suture, a general use of MRI as a screening tool for Chiari malformation should not be recommended for patients with nonsyndromic-isolated craniosynostosis who lack clinical symptoms.
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