Turkish Neurosurgery
ENDOSCOPY-ASSISTED CRANIOSYNOSTOSIS SURGERY VERSUS CRANIAL VAULT REMODELING FOR NON-SYNDROMIC CRANIOSYNOSTOSIS: EXPERIENCE OF A SINGLE CENTER
Barış ALBUZ2, Mehmet Erdal COŞKUN1, Emrah EGEMEN1
1Pamukkale University, Neurosurgery, Denizli,
2Fatih State Hospital, Neurosurgery, Trabzon,
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.43011-22.2

Aim:This study evaluated and compared the results between open cranial vault remodeling (OCVR) and endoscopy-assisted craniosynostosis surgery (EACS) for non-syndromic craniosynostosis and determined an algorithm for creating the most appropriate patient-oriented surgical choice.Material and Methods:Eighty-five children with craniosynostosis who underwent surgery between 2010 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, comorbidities, and peri-operative findings of the patients were recorded. Pre- and post-operative comparisons were made between predetermined measurement techniques for each deformation. In addition, measurements were obtained by computed tomography (CT) or 3D stereophotogrammetric (3DSPG) methods from eligible patients and compared with one another.Results:In our study, 61 patients underwent EACS, whereas 24 underwent OCVR. The operating time of OCVR was approximately 54.4 minutes longer than that of EACS (p < 0.001). The intra-operative blood loss was around 139 ml higher in OCVR (p < 0.001). The length of hospital stay for patients who underwent EACS was shorter at 8.4 days on average (p < 0.001). Surprisingly, 5 complications were observed in OCVR compared with 7 in EACS. While the cosmetic outcome of EACS was superior in most of the pathology-specific measurement techniques, the metopic index increased only in patients with metopic synostosis after both surgical operations. Still, this increase was lower in EACS than in OCVR.Conclusion:This study suggests that endoscopic craniosynostosis surgery has lower estimated blood loss and operation and hospitalization times, as well as comparable cosmetic results compared with open vault surgeries on long-term follow-up. CT and 3DSPG methods can help distinguish between different types of measurement techniques for synostoses. However, no significant differences were found in the comparisons since 3DSPG can also provide reliable measurements comparable to those on CT during follow-up.

Corresponding author : Emrah EGEMEN