page_title: Craniofacial surgery
section_title: Craniosynostosis
hierarchical_section_title: Craniofacial surgery / Craniosynostosis
caption_attribution_description: English: Cranial sutures shown from top of head Português: Suturas craniais mostradas do topo da cabeça
context_page_description: Craniofacial surgery is a surgical subspecialty that deals with congenital and acquired deformities of the head, skull, face, neck, jaws and associated structures. Although craniofacial treatment often involves manipulation of bone, craniofacial surgery is not tissue-specific; craniofacial surgeons deal with bone, skin, nerve, muscle, teeth, and other related anatomy.
  Defects typically treated by craniofacial surgeons include craniosynostosis, rare craniofacial clefts, acute and chronic sequellae of facial fractures, cleft lip and palate, micrognathia, Treacher Collins Syndrome, Apert's Syndrome, Crouzon's Syndrome, Craniofacial microsomia, microtia and other congenital ear anomalies, and many others.
  Training in craniofacial surgery requires completion of a Craniofacial surgery fellowship. Such fellowships are available to individuals who have completed residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, or ENT surgery. Those who have completed residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery may be either single degree or dual-degree surgeons with no differences. There is no specific board for craniofacial surgery.
context_section_description: The bones of the human skull are joined together by cranial sutures (see figure 1). The anterior fontanelle is where the metopic, sagittal and coronal sutures meet. Normally the sutures gradually fuse within the first few years after birth. In infants where one or more of the sutures fuses too early the growth of the skull is restricted, resulting in compensation mechanisms which cause irregular growth patterns. Growth in the skull is perpendicular to the sutures. When a suture fuses too early, the growth perpendicular to that suture will be restricted, and the bone growth near the other sutures will be stimulated, causing an abnormal head shape. The expanding brain is the main stimulus for the rapid growth of the skull in the first years of life. Inhibited growth potential of the skull can restrict the volume, needed by the brain. In cases in which the compensation does not effectively provide enough space for the growing brain, craniosynostosis results in increased intracranial pressure.
  Craniosynostosis is called simple when one suture is involved, and complex when two or more sutures are involved. It can occur as part of a syndrome or as an isolated defect (nonsyndromic).
caption: Fig. 1 Cranial sutures viewed from top of head
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