Outcomes of Endoscopic Versus Open Spring Assisted Surgery for Sagittal Craniosynostosis

Spring-assisted surgery (SAS) has been shown to be an effective technique for correction of isolated sagittal craniosynostosis in patients less than 6 months of age. At their institution, the authors adopted a minimally invasive technique in 2010, using a shorter incision and an endoscope. A retrospective chart review of 101 patients with isolated, nonsyndromic, sagittal craniosynostosis, who underwent SAS, was performed in order to compare perioperative and clinical outcomes of the open (n = 51) and minimally-invasive (n = 50) approaches. Surgeries were performed by 2 neurosurgeons and 3 plastic surgeons, between 2005 and 2018. The pre and postoperative cephalic indices were not significantly different in both groups. Minimally-invasive spring placement required a longer operative time than the open approach, with the mean minimally-invasive operative time at 65 minutes, compared to 53 minutes (P < 0.0001). Spring removal operative time was not significantly different, with the minimally-invasive operative time at 31 minutes versus 29 minutes (P = 0.48). There were no significant differences in major or minor complications when comparing the open and minimally-invasive approaches. In conclusion, both the open and the minimally-invasive SAS techniques are effective for early correction of isolated sagittal craniosynostosis, although the minimally-invasive approach requires a longer operative time for spring placement.