A novel anthropometric chart for craniofacial surgery.

Various indices and measurements of the growing cranial vault exist, but there is no single head-shape chart specific to craniofacial surgery. The authors have produced a reliable head-shape chart that will enable accurate charting of patients with craniosynostosis both in the preoperative and postoperative period.One thousand eighty-two participants were used to obtain normal anthropometric measurements, specifically the ear-to-ear measurement and the glabella-to-external occipital protuberance measurement. Both male and female participants aged 6 months to 25 years were used to obtain these measurements. These measurements were correlated with the cephalic index as described by Farkas according to the different age groups.A head-shape chart has been created for males and females using the normal ear-to-ear measurements and the cephalic index that define both qualitative and quantitative elements of the growing skull. Craniofacial surgeons may find this chart useful for managing patients with craniosynostosis. This chart is also useful in the assessment of how the skull grows after surgery.

Late subperiosteal hematomata associated with craniofacial surgery.

Hematomata are well-recognized complications of surgery. Subperiosteal hematomata occur rarely and have not been well documented after craniofacial surgery. It is possible that craniofacial surgery increases the likelihood of subperiosteal hematomata occurring after minor trauma, even long after surgery, with a risk of subsequent ossification. Over a period of 7 years, 12 patients were identified as having possible subperiosteal hematomata. A number of these patients displayed distinct ossification in the area of the subperiosteal hematoma, resulting in an obvious contour defect. This can be prevented if the patients present early enough and if the hematoma is evacuated. Prompt evacuation of the hematoma is therefore suggested in any case with a history suggestive of a subperiosteal hematoma.