The metopic suture is usually open at birth and fusion normally occurs in the first 12 months of life. With premature fusion of the metopic suture skull growth is restricted and the forehead will have a triangular shape and the eyes may appear closer together. This occurs somewhere between one in every 2,500 - 15,000 live births with a male to female ratio of 3:1.
The deformity can vary from mild to severe. There is usually a prominent mid-frontal ridge (pointed forehead) down the forehead that can be seen or felt and the eyebrows may appear "pinched" on either side. The eyes are usually spaced closer to each other than normal, causing a definite recognizable deformity of the forehead and eyes. When viewed from above the forehead has a triangular shape.
The only treatment for this condition is surgery on the skull. In general, a single operation is all that is necessary to treat this condition and the outcome is usually excellent.
my beautiful 8 1/2 pound baby girl that daddy delivered was born with the fused frontal ridge. dr. louser and dr. gruss performed the surgery at childrens hospital in seattle on her 8 month bday. it was a difficult time but the drs. were beyond the best. she is now 14, very bright and beautiful. ONE THING!!::be sure and get a second opinion if you do not go directly to childrens hospital...were we referred to a dr.m in tacoma and he wanted to remove her forehead, throw it away and remove the top of her skull to replace it...THIS IS THE OLD WAY!!i felt that it was just too invasive and requested to take her to childrens. what a difference it made. we were fortunate to have med ins. but if you DO NOT it DOES NOT matter. just get your baby there and they will take care of you...all the way.
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ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean remove the forehead??
ReplyDeleteOne doctor we saw, he said he would have to break/cut the forehead bone into 2 or 4 parts...is that the same thing as removing the forehead and rebuilding it?