Craniofacial growth in plagiocephaly and Crouzon syndrome

Very little information is available in the literature regarding the morphology and growth of the cranial base, the orbits and the jaws, in patients with premature craniosynostosis. The present report deals with the craniofacial morphology and growth in plagiocephaly and Crouzon syndrome. For each anomaly a dry skull was compared with a clinical case followed longitudinally with roentgencephalometry. Metallic implants in the jaws were employed in one case. Cranial base involvement was demonstrated for both types of premature craniosynostosis. In Crouzon syndrome the cartilagenous cranial base was affected. Marked compensatory and dysplastic growth changes were observed in the facial skeleton in both anomalies. The methodological problems related to roentgencephalometric examination of patients with plagiocephaly are discussed, and a roetgencephalometric method for evaluation of exophthalmos in patients with Crouzon syndrome is presented.