Background:
Unilateral coronal craniosynostosis (UCS) is a congenital disorder resulting from the premature suture fusion, leading to complex primary and compensatory morphologic changes in the shape of not only the calvarium and but also into the skull base. This deformity typically requires surgery to correct the shape of the skull and prevent neurologic sequelae, including increased intracranial pressure, sensory deficits, and cognitive impairment.
Methods:
The present multicenter study sought to reverse-engineer the bone dysmorphogenesis seen in non-syndromic UCS using a geometric morphometric approach. Computed tomography scans for 26 non-syndromic UCS patients were converted to three-dimensional mesh models. Two hundred thirty-six unique anatomical landmarks and semi-landmarked curves were then plotted on each model, creating wireframe representations of the Patients’ skulls.
Results:
Generalized Procrustes superimposition, Principal Component Analysis, and heatmaps identified significant superior displacement of the ipsilateral orbit (“harlequin” eye deformity), anterior displacement of the ear ipsilateral to the fused coronal suture, acute deviation of midline skull base structures ipsilateral to the fused coronal suture and flattening of the parietal bone and associated failure to expand superiorly.
Conclusions:
The described technique illustrates the impact of premature coronal suture fusion on the development of the entire skull and proposes how bone dysmorphology contributes to the Patients’ neurologic sequelae. By bridging novel basic science methodologies with clinical research, the present study quantitatively describes craniofacial development and bone dysmorphogenesis.
Intrasaccular flow diversion is a new endovascular option for managing unruptured intracranial aneurysms.1–6 However, catheter ejection can occur during placement of an intrasaccular flow diverter, especially in tortuous vasculature that creates unfavorable angles between the aneurysm neck and the parent vessel.5 The Bendit steerable microcatheter (Bendit Technologies, Petah Tikva, Israel) can dynamically change its tip angle and may mitigate these placement concerns.7–9 Here, we report the placement of an intrasaccular flow diverter for the treatment of an unruptured internal carotid artery sidewall aneurysm at an unfavorable neck angle using the Bendit microcatheter (video 1). The Bendit was navigated around the 180° turn of the carotid siphon and held a stable position during device delivery. The device was sequentially deployed as the Bendit was progressively straightened and was successfully placed within the aneurysm. No neurological complications were experienced and the patient was asymptomatic on follow-up 3 months later.Video 1Placement of an intrasaccular flow diverter in an intracranial sidewall aneurysm using the Bendit articulating microcatheter.
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