Bilateral fronto-orbital advancement combined with cranial vault release using a free-floating bone flap technique for nonsyndromic unilateral coronal synostosis.

BACKGROUND: The goals of operative treatment for unilateral coronal synostosis (UCS) are to improve appearance and allow unrestricted brain growth. However, for severe unilateral premature closure of the coronal suture, existing methods do not address the compression of the brain or expand the volume of the skull cavity. We report our retrospective experience with bilateral fronto-orbital advancement combined with cranial vault release using a free-floating bone flap (CVR + FFBF) technique and the resulting changes in the anterior cranial vault asymmetry index (ACVAI) and intracranial volume.

METHODS: Twenty patients with UCS who underwent bilateral fronto-orbital advancement combined with CVR + FFBF technique from April 2014 to May 2019 were included. Surgical efficacy was evaluated by the ACVAI and intracranial volume before the operation, 1 week after the operation, and at the last follow-up (average 19.8 months; range, 12 to 40 months). The measurement data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation and were statistically analyzed by t -test.

RESULTS: The ACVAI was 9.07%±3.55% before the operation, 3.56%±3.42% 1 week after the operation, and 3.13%±2.41% at the last follow-up. The ACVAI 1 week after the operation was significantly lower than that before the operation ( t =4.827, P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the ACVAI 1 week after the operation and at the last follow-up ( t =0.660, P=0.517). The intracranial volume was 1,027.85±112.25 mL in patients before the operation and 1,131.92±161.71 mL in the normal control group, which was a statistically significant difference ( t =2.364, P=0.023). The intracranial volume significantly increased 1 week after surgery: 1,081.62±111.10 mL ( t =8.703, P<0.001), and this trend continued at the last follow-up (1,386.90±119.30 mL) similarly to the normal control group (1,438.22±89.28 mL). At the last follow-up, there was no significant difference between the two groups ( t =1.540, P=0.132).

CONCLUSIONS: For the treatment of UCS, bilateral fronto-orbital advancement combined with CVR + FFBF technique offers functional and cosmetic outcomes in terms of intracranial volume expansion and fronto-orbital symmetry.