Long-Term Growth following Trigonocephaly Repairs: Are Overcorrections Necessary?

Area of Science:

• Craniofacial surgery
• Pediatric neurosurgery
• Growth and development

Background:

• Trigonocephaly correction aims to normalize skull shape, but long-term bifrontal width growth post-surgery is not fully understood.
• Assessing growth patterns is crucial for optimizing surgical timing and technique.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate long-term bifrontal width growth after trigonocephaly correction.
• To determine the impact of surgical timing and severity on postoperative growth.
• To guide surgical strategies for achieving optimal bifrontal width at skeletal maturity.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of trigonocephaly repairs with >1 year follow-up.
• Exclusion of syndromic cases and incomplete records.
• Anthropometric measurements analyzed using Z-scores compared to age- and sex-matched standards.

Main Results:

• Initial overcorrection of bifrontal width diminished over time, leading to undercorrection at maturity.
• Earlier surgical correction (younger than 8 months) was associated with poorer bifrontal growth.
• Surgical timing around 11 months required significant overcorrection (approx. 1.5 cm) for normal mature width.

Conclusions:

• Subnormal bifrontal growth is a common outcome following trigonocephaly correction, especially with early intervention.
• Surgical overcorrection is necessary to compensate for diminished growth and achieve normal bifrontal width.
• Further research into precise surgical targets based on age and severity is warranted.