Introduction:The craniofacial asymmetry seen in unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis may not be effectively treated by posterior cranial vault remodeling, endoscopic suturectomy, and helmet therapy, or suturectomy and distraction osteogenesis alone due to limitations in soft-tissue envelope expansion and relapse of the deformity. The authors report a series of unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis patients treated with a posterior rotational cranial-flap technique using internal distraction osteogenesis. Methods: Posterior cranial vault reconstruction combined with internal distraction was used, aided by preoperative virtual surgical planning. An in situ posterior rotational flap osteotomy was utilized to maximize dural preservation. Primary outcome measures included age-adjusted volume change and age-adjusted percent volume change per mm distraction. Distraction characteristics and perioperative characteristics were also assessed. Results: A total of 5 patients were identified. Mean predistraction intracranial volume was 1087.5 cc (SD ¼ 202.3 cc) and mean postdistraction included intracranial volume was 1266.1cc (SD ¼ 131.8cc). Mean age-adjusted percent included intracranial volume change was 14.1% (SD ¼ 9.6%), and mean percent intracranial volume change per mm distraction was 0.43%/mm distraction (SD ¼ 0.37%/mm distraction). One patient developed a distractor site infection postoperatively that was treated successfully with oral antibiotics. All patients had a Whitaker score of 1 at one year follow up. Conclusions: Posterior cranial vault remodeling using osteogenesis and a rotational cranial flap technique with dural preservation can be effectively used to maximize bone flap viability and limit postoperative relapse in patients with unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis. Long term analysis as well as comparison to open techniques will need to be interrogated.

There are multiple treatment options for unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis (ULS) including open posterior cranial vault remodeling (OCVR) and distraction osteogenesis (DO). There is a paucity of data comparing these techniques in the treatment of ULS. This study compared the perioperative characteristics of these interventions for patients with ULS. An IRB-approved chart review was performed from January 1999 to November 2018 at a single institution. Inclusion criteria included the diagnosis of ULS, treatment with either OCVR or DO using a posterior rotational flap technique, and a minimum 1-year follow-up. Seventeen patients met the inclusion criteria (12 OCVR and 5 DO). Patients in each cohort were found to have a similar distribution in sex, age at the time of surgery, synostosis laterality, weight, and length of follow-up. There was no significant difference in mean estimated blood loss/kg, surgical time, or transfusion requirements between cohorts. Distraction osteogenesis patients had a longer mean hospital length of stay (3.4 +/− 0.6 d versus 2.0 +/− 0.6 d, P = 0.0004). All patients were admitted to the surgical ward postoperatively. In the OCVR cohort, complications included 1 dural tear, 1 surgical site infection, and 2 reoperations. In the DO cohort, 1 patient had a distraction site infection, treated with antibiotics. There was no significant difference in estimated blood loss, volume of blood transfusion, or surgical time between OCVR and DO. Patients who underwent OCVR had a higher incidence of postoperative complications and the need for reoperation. This data provides insight into the perioperative differences between OCVR and DO in patients with ULS.

Background: There is a paucity of data on normal intracranial volumes for healthy children during the first few years of life, when cranial growth velocity is greatest. The aim of this study was to generate a normative predictive model of intracranial volumes based on brain magnetic resonance imaging from a large sample of healthy children to serve as a reference tool for future studies on craniosynostosis. Methods: Structural magnetic resonance imaging data for healthy children up to 3 years of age was acquired from the National Institutes of Health Pediatric MRI Data Repository. Intracranial volumes were calculated using T1-weighted scans with FreeSurfer (version 6.0.0). Mean intracranial volumes were calculated and best-fit logarithmic curves were generated. Results were compared to previously published intracranial volume curves. Results: Two-hundred seventy magnetic resonance imaging scans were available: 118 were collected in the first year of life, 97 were collected between years 1 and 2, and 55 were collected between years 2 and 3. A best-fit logarithmic growth curve was generated for male and female patients. The authors’ regression models showed that male patients had significantly greater intracranial volumes than female patients after 1 month of age. Predicted intracranial volumes were also greater in male and female patients in the first 6 months of life as compared to previously published intracranial volume curves. Conclusions: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the largest series of demographically representative magnetic resonance imaging–based intracranial volumes for children aged 3 years and younger. The model generated in this study can be used by investigators as a reference for evaluating craniosynostosis patients.

Supplement, 100th Annual Meeting Display EPostersfor quality improvement. Control entailed ongoing monitoring to ensure progress was sustained following study completion. RESULTS:Our interventions lasted 6 months and included 70 patients. Intraoperative interventions such as standardized trays did not decrease procedure time. Actively striving to advance patients through postoperative milestones during their inpatient stay and creation of an outpatient nursing roadmap that included aspects of inpatient care decreased median length of stay from 67.8 to 44.8 hours. Qualitatively, 77% of patients agreed they felt ready to be discharged when equipped with nursing instruction. No major complications were observed after earlier discharge. CONCLUSION:A systematic DMAIC framework can decrease hospitalization time following unilateral DIEP surgery and spare resources for additional reconstructive patients. Such methodology can potentially further reduce stay and be applied to bilateral reconstruction patients.