title: Normally shaped heads with no sutures, normally shaped heads with abnormal sutures, and abnormally shaped heads with normal sutures.
abstract: We present a series of children whose head shapes and suture status do not make sense. There were 3 patients with complete absence of sutures and normal head shapes. One patient was evaluated for microcephaly at 6 years of age. In the second, the absence of sutures was discovered on workup for headaches at 8 years of age. The third underwent x-ray imaging for parasagittal bony nodules at 1 month of age. The head circumferences fell at the 4th, 25th, and 50th percentiles, respectively. The 2 older children were in normal classes, and the youngest was meeting milestones appropriately. We encountered 3 patients with fusion of the sagittal suture and normal head shapes. One had a flattened occiput, the second patient was thought to be brachycephalic, and the third was macrocephalic. Head circumferences were at the fourth, 50th, and 75th percentiles. The patient with head circumference at the fourth percentile had fetal alcohol syndrome and speech delay. The other 2 were developing normally with follow-up of 14 months. Finally, 3 patients underwent surgery for characteristic craniosynostotic head shapes and were found to have patent sutures at surgery. One patient had classic unilateral coronal synostosis and a patent suture on the side of the defect. The second patient had Crouzon syndrome with characteristic head shape, but open coronal sutures. The third patient had the appearance of bicoronal synostosis, with a patent suture on one side. They have had good results from their craniofacial reconstructions at 24, 12, and 6 months' follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have no explanation for these interesting findings.
authors.affiliation: Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Ruth.bristol@bnaneuro.net
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Bristol
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: J Gordon
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: McComb
mesh_terms: D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D003393:Cranial Sutures / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003398:Craniosynostoses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed