The Journal of craniofacial surgery
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Comparative Study
Comparison of spring-mediated cranioplasty to minimally invasive strip craniectomy and barrel staving for early treatment of sagittal craniosynostosis.
The treatment of sagittal craniosynostosis has evolved from early strip craniectomy to total cranial vault remodeling and now back to attempts at minimally invasive correction. To optimize outcomes while minimizing morbidity, we currently use 2 methods of reconstruction in patients younger than 9 months: spring-mediated cranioplasty (SMC) and minimally invasive strip craniectomy with parietal barrel staving (SCPB). The purpose of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of the 2 methods. ⋯ Complications included 1 spring dislodgment in an SMC that did not require additional management and 1 undercorrection in the SCPB group. Both SMC and SCPB are safe, effective means of treating sagittal craniosynostosis. Spring-mediated cranioplasty has become our predominant means of treatment of scaphocephaly in patients younger than 9 months because of its improved morbidity profile.
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We present a case of orbital fracture associated with emphysema and pneumocephalus caused by a high-pressured air injection in the eyeball. A 49-year-old man injured his right eye while working with a high-pressure (compressed) air jet in a workshop. The periorbital area was swollen and ecchymotic. ⋯ Free air was also seen near the basal cistern and sylvian fissure, indicating a pneumocephalus. Our case proved a high pneumatic pressure could induce a fracture of the medial wall of the orbit. Green et al (Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg 1990;6:211-217) suggested that a consistent force of more than 2.08 J is enough to inflict injury on the orbital wall.
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Review Case Reports
Salvage of calvarial bone graft using acellular dermal matrix in nasal reconstruction and secondary rhinoplasty for frontonasal dysplasia.
Frontonasal dysplasia is a severe malformation composed of cranial, ophthalmic, nasal, upper lip, and palatal deformities. Reconstruction in these patients requires complex craniofacial efforts. A 19-year-old woman with frontonasal dysplasia was treated at our institution where she had undergone multiple prior reconstructive surgeries including facial bipartition and cantilevered calvarial bone graft for nasal reconstruction. ⋯ Its use also avoids further donor site morbidity. We suggest acellular dermal matrix as a graft material in revision rhinoplasties for cases of acquired nasal contour deformity and threatened bone graft extrusion. This is the first report known to the authors using acellular dermal matrix during staged nasal reconstruction in a patient experiencing frontonasal dysplasia.
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Comparative Study
Cranial reconstruction after decompressive craniectomy: prediction of complications using fuzzy logic.
Cranial reconstruction after decompressive craniectomy (DC) has been shown to be associated with a relatively high complication rate (16.4%-34%) compared with standard neurosurgical procedures (2%-5%). Most studies that have previously attempted to formulate a multivariate model for identifying factors predictive of postoperative complications of cranioplasty either were unsuccessful or yielded conflicting results. Therefore, fuzzy logic-based fuzzy inference system (FIS), which has proven to be a useful tool for risk prediction in medical and surgical conditions, was used in this study to identify predictors of complications of cranioplasty. ⋯ Our study shows that the procedure of cranioplasty is associated with a high complication rate and that FIS has a 100% sensitivity and specificity in predicting severe complications after cranioplasty. It will prove to be an invaluable tool for clinicians once the results are validated by a similar prospective study with a larger sample size.
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In blow-out fractures, some nonoperative cases have a poor outcome, and a method for accurate prognosis is required. To address this need, we retrospectively reviewed blow-out fractures presenting at Teikyo University Hospital between July 2004 and May 2007 and conducted a survey regarding diplopia and enophthalmos for nonoperative cases. Computed tomographic scan findings were divided according to fracture width and the degree of protrusion of the inferior rectus muscle into the maxillary sinus. ⋯ Even if the fracture width was less than half the diameter of the globe, 2 of 3 patients had enophthalmos when the protrusion of the inferior rectus muscle into the maxillary sinus was half or more of its section. Among the linear orbital floor fractures, 1 case required an emergency operation. We suggest a new algorithm for treatment of blow-out fractures based on computed tomographic scan findings that can also contribute to making a prognosis.