Craniofacial refers to the bones that make up your face and head. A craniofacial malformation means that one or more of these bones haven't formed or joined correctly. This usually happens as a baby grows in the womb, but it can also happen after birth.
Craniofacial malformations can cause health problems for children and also affect how the head and face look. Our brain surgeons work with plastic surgeons to help treat people with these issues.
Craniofacial is a term for the bones of the head and face. Doctors define craniofacial malformations as a disability or injury caused when bones of the skull and face fuse too early. Bones that join incorrectly can affect features of an infant's face and head.
Sometimes referred to as craniofacial anomalies, these health problems range in severity.
Examples include cleft lip and palate to congenital growths and tumors.
Some issues are very complex, including illnesses in which the bones in the skull and face fuse wrong.
When severe, they can also squeeze the brain due to not allowing enough space for the brain to grow. This can cause the brain to have a high pressure, known as intracranial pressure (ICP).
These are some of the most common structural congenital disabilities. The treatment approach for each issue differs based on how severe it is.
Craniofacial malformations often are the result of genetic issues.
They're often associated with changes in growth or function, such as:
With craniofacial malformations, doctors and parents can usually see the change. This is unlike other brain issues where symptoms happen inside the body.
Many illnesses fall under this umbrella, each with symptoms that can affect the face and head.
They include:
Doctors can diagnose changes to the bones of the face and skull using imaging, such as:
Treatment for craniofacial malformations depends on how the bones of the skull and face have changed.
Treatments can include:
Your doctor may suggest surgery for problems affecting appearance or brain function.
Surgery on the bones of the face and head corrects congenital disabilities of the skull or bone and neck injuries. Brain and plastic surgeons work together for these surgeries to remove and reshape parts of the head and face.
People need to undergo general anesthesia for these surgeries. For some issues, doctors may be able to do minimally invasive surgery using a small incision — about 1 inch.
The doctors use cameras called endoscopes to perform the surgery. They use special surgical tools that allow them to correct the deformity in many cases without open surgery.
It's crucial to have surgery when the baby is as young as possible. This increases their chance of having minimally invasive surgery. Older children may need open surgery.
UPMC surgeons use the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) for certain issues with the bones of the face and head.
Surgeons use this approach to operate on the base of the skull and the top of the spine. They access these body parts through the nose and sinuses. EEA avoids cuts to the face or head.
EEA offers:
In others, surgeons use an endoscopic cranial approach through a small incision on the top of the head.
This approach offers:
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