Craniofacial

What Is Craniofacial Surgery?

Craniofacial surgery is a type of plastic surgery that focuses on the treatment of head, face, and neck abnormalities. Dream offers treatment for children with these medical conditions, with a wealth of knowledge and experience shared between our specialists.

Types Of Craniosynostosis

The following can be a result of chromosomal abnormalities like Apert, Crouzon, and Pfeiffer syndrome. Types of craniosynostosis include:

  • Sagittal synostosis (scaphocephaly): the most common type which affects the main suture on the very top of the head. The early closing forces the head to grow long and narrow and forehead tends to look broad.
  • Frontal plagiocephaly: affects the suture that runs from ear to ear on the top of the head.
  • Metopic synostosis: a rare form that affects the suture close to the forehead. The shape of the child’s head may be described as being a little triangular.
  • Raised Intracranial Pressure (ICP): a complication that should be treated as early as possible to relieve secondary effects of raised intracranial pressure on the developing brain and to achieve a good functional outcome.

What Type Of Craniofacial Surgery Do We Perform?

Dream can perform:

  • Cleft lip surgeries
  • Cleft palate surgeries
  • Secondary lip and nose revision: to correct residual deformity and improve the aesthetic appearance of the nasal and lip structure.
  • Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI) surgeries: to treat the improper closing of the velopharyngeal sphincter (soft palate muscle in the mouth) during speech.
  • Alveolar bone grafts: to stabilise the bone arch and allow teeth to erupt. it requires bone to be harvested from the hip to be filled in the gap in the gum.
  • Orthognathic surgeries: to correct deformities of the upper and lower jaw bones which can develop in cleft lip and palate and craniofacial conditions.
  • Primary and Secondary treatment of facial deformities: correct deformities resulted from trauma such as facial fractures, benign or malignant tumours and infection.
  • Craniosynostosis surgeries: to correct an abnormally shaped head due to premature fusion of cranial sutures in the baby’s skull.