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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Craniosynostosis is a birth defect in which one or more of the joints between the bones of your infant's skull close prematurely, before your infant's brain is fully formed. When your baby has craniosynostosis, his or her brain can't grow in its natural shape and the head is misshapen.
Craniosynostosis can affect one or more of the joints in your infant's skull. In some cases, craniosynostosis is associated with an underlying brain abnormality that prevents the brain from growing properly.
Treating craniosynostosis usually means your infant needs surgery to separate the fused bones. If there's no underlying brain abnormality, the surgery allows the brain adequate space to grow and develop.
- Craniosynostosis information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/craniosynostosis/craniosynostosis.htm. Accessed Aug. 9, 2011.
- Stal S, et al. Overview of craniosynostosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 9, 2011.
- Craniosynostosis and craniofacial disorders. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. http://www.aans.org/en/Patient%20Information/Conditions%20and%20Treatments/Craniosynostosis%20and%20Craniofacial%20Disorders.aspx. Accessed Aug. 9, 2011.
- Back to Sleep public education campaign. National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids. Accessed Aug 9, 2011.
- Stal S, et al. Craniosynostosis syndromes. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 9, 2011.
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