title: Intraoperative pre- and post-craniofacial reconstruction intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring in children with craniosynostosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the goals of cranial vault expansion performed in patients with craniosynostosis (CS) is to reduce the harmful effects associated with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). Until now, clear guidelines on when cranial vault expansion should take place have not been established except in unacceptable cosmetic deformities.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper illustrates the potential benefit of ICP monitoring in determining the time of surgery. The ICP of six patients (ranging from 7 months to 8 years) was measured before and after surgery. For the first time, we regulated end-tidal carbon dioxide, the position and movements, the level of sedation and the monitoring site of our patients under anesthesia to report accurate ICP readings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean pre- and postoperative ICPs were 14.7 and 4.2 mmHg, respectively. Pressure sensor was placed through a burr hole under general anesthesia and remained through all stages of recording. Though ICP monitoring has been reported before, the physiological fluctuations of ICP and patient's condition affected results. Under our ICP monitoring protocol, the six-patient study represents a suggestion to standardize ICP measurements under certain conditions in order to improve the reproducibility of ICP monitoring and therefore establish the need for optimal timing of cranial vault expansion in pediatrics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although we cannot clearly define the indications and establish normal pediatric ICP values from the result of this study because of the small number of cases and some other limitations, this is a new approach to define ICP increase as a potential indication for surgery in CS.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Akiyoshi
authors: A
authors: Yokote
authors: Yasuo
authors: Y
authors: Aihara
authors: Seiichiro
authors: S
authors: Eguchi
authors: Yoshikazu
authors: Y
authors: Okada
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003398:Craniosynostoses / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019586:Intracranial Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000379:methods*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012886:Skull / Q000601:surgery
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