Longitudinal assessment of visual development in non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a 1-year pre- and post-surgical study.
OBJECTIVE
to investigate visual function pre- and post surgery in children with single-suture non-syndromic craniosynostosis


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Vasco
G
G
Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Baranello
G
G
Ricci
D
D
Salerni
A
A
Tamburrini
G
G
Amante
R
R
Dickmann
A
A
Di Rocco
C
C
Velardi
F
F
Mercuri
E
E
D002657:Child Development; D003398:Craniosynostoses / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D005133:Eye Movements; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011184:Postoperative Period; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields