Variations in Postoperative Management of Pediatric Open-Vault Craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of 1 or more of the calvarial sutures causing a secondary distortion of the skull shape due to lack of growth perpendicular to the fused suture and compensatory overgrowth parallel to the suture. Open vault craniosynostosis repair requires extensive dissection and reshaping of the skull and can be associated with significant pain, commonly undervalued, and underreported in the pediatric cohort. Although there is an extensive body of literature focusing on the operative treatment of craniosynostosis, there is little consensus about optimal postoperative management protocols, including pain control regimens. The purpose of this study was to assess variation in immediate postoperative management protocols within the United States. A Qualtrics-based survey was submitted to all 112 American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association-approved craniofacial teams regarding their routine postoperative management protocol. Nineteen responses were obtained. All surgeons reported routine post-op intensive care unit stay. Mean overall length of stay was 3.5 days. Pain control agents included acetaminophen (100%), intravenous opioids (95%), oral opioids (79%), and ketorolac (53%). Eighty-eight percent of surgeons reported utilizing vital signs and observational parameters for pain assessment with 47% reporting the use of a formal pain scale. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed used a drain, 88% used a foley catheter, 75% used postoperative prophylactic antibiotics, and 75% routinely used arterial line monitoring postoperatively. The results of this survey will be the basis for future direction in understanding the efficacy of differing management protocols and further study of pain management in the pediatric craniosynostosis population.