Craniofacial morphology in shunt-treated hydrocephalic children.

Craniofacial morphology was studied in a sample of 37 hydrocephalic subjects, 7 to 18 years of age, most of whom had had their first shunt operation performed in early childhood and were presently undergoing shunt treatment. The patients were grouped according to age and sex, and cephalometric radiograms were made. Similar radiograms from a north Finnish population and pretreatment radiograms from children having orthodontic cure were used as controls. The cephalograms were analyzed using linear, angular, and proportional measurements. Both cranial and facial morphological deviations were observed among the shunt-treated patients. The calvarium was thickened and the neurocranium enlarged; the cranial base flexure was increased, particularly among the older boys; and increased facial prognathism was observed. These craniofacial aberrations seemed to be exacerbated by a prolonged shunting time. A class I dental interrelation was found in all but two patients.