For Patients/Families

Craniosynostosis
An unusual condition in which the edges of the skull bones grow or fuse together. At birth the skull is made of up of several plates of bone. It is not a single, solid bone, but rather pieces of bone. The spaces between the bone plates allow the skull to expand as the brain grows. When the brain has stopped growing, the bony plates fuse. If the plates fuse too early, they prevent the skull from expanding normally and the skull will often appear abnormally shaped. In craniosynostosis some of the sutures fuse early restricting the growth of the bony skull. This usually requires major surgery to correct.