Longitudinal assessment of visual development in non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a 1-year pre- and post-surgical study

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2008-11, Vol.93 (11), p.932-935
• Main Authors: Vasco, G, Baranello, G, Ricci, D, Salerni, A, Tamburrini, G, Amante, R, Dickmann, A, Di Rocco, C, Velardi, F, Mercuri, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Attention; Babies; Biological and medical sciences; Birth defects; Care and treatment; Child Development; Competition; Craniosynostoses; Craniosynostoses - complications; Craniosynostoses - physiopathology; Craniosynostoses - psychology; Craniosynostoses - surgery; Demographic aspects; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Eye Movements; Fixation, Ocular; General aspects; Humans; Infant; Infants; Longitudinal Studies; Malformations and congenital and or hereditary diseases involving bones. Joint deformations; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Neurology; Ophthalmology; Patient outcomes; Patients; Physiological aspects; Postoperative Period; Prevention and actions; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Vision; Vision Disorders - etiology; Vision Disorders - physiopathology; Visual Acuity; Visual Fields; Visual Impairments; Yeast; Young Children
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/adc.2007.128421

Objective:to investigate visual function pre- and post surgery in children with single-suture non-syndromic craniosynostosisDesign:Twenty-nine infants (12 with sagittal synostosis, 10 with trigonocephaly and 7 with anterior plagiocephaly) were longitudinally evaluated using a battery of tests assessing various aspects of visual function, including ocular behaviour, acuity, visual fields and fixation shift. All infants were assessed before surgery and 2, 6 and 12 months after surgery.Results:Before surgery only 16% of infants had completely normal visual function, while on the assessment performed 12 months after surgery, the number with normal results on all the tests increased to 65%. The only abnormalities found 12 months after surgical correction were mainly found on abnormal oculomotor behaviour in infants with plagiocephaly.Conclusion:Abnormalities of visual function were not frequent in infants with non-syndromic craniosynostosis who underwent surgical correction. Approximately half of the patients had some visual abnormalities before surgery, which subsequently improved, showing a delayed visual maturation rather than persistent abnormalities.