Craniosynostosis in an Indian Scenario: A Long-term Follow-up

Craniofacial surgery as a subspecialty has finally taken off in India. Young plastic surgeons in the early 1990s became fascinated by its enormous scope. The author was also among the lucky ones to be trained in this field with Dr. Ian Jackson at the Craniofacial Center at Southfield, Michigan, from 1993-1994. This facility for craniofacial surgery was established in the North Indian tertiary care hospital at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, in 1995.

We have reviewed the outcomes of management of craniosynostosis patients and evaluated changes in these outcomes as the experience was gained. The study is a retrospective chart review of the 169 patients operated on for various craniosyntoses in the hospital, for the last 25 years from January 1995 to July 2019.

The whole spectrum of craniosynostoses patients have been operated on and followed up for up to 20 years. All the patients underwent open surgery involving fronto-orbital advancement and remodelling of the deformed calvarium. It was noted that all the syndromic patients required more than one operation, whereas the non-syndromic patients had a stable result after a single surgery. Craniofacial surgery has now truly arrived in India. Our experience with management of craniosynostosis at PGIMER, Chandigarh, has shown an acceptable morbidity and mortality which is at par with the global standards.