Scaphocephaly: aesthetic and psychosocial considerations.

A series of 48 children with scaphocephaly has been reviewed. 44 had synostosis of the sagittal suture alone, and four had additional involvement of other sutures. Although six children showed significant developmental delay, with eventual mental retardation in five cases, it does not appear that this is caused by mechanical constriction of the brain. In the majority of cases, scaphocephaly appears to be a benign variant in cranial development. Operation by linear craniectomy was performed for cosmetic reasons in 14 cases, and in general the results were good. Operation was not performed in the other 34 cases, including 15 seen in infancy, and review of these has shown a high incidence of anxiety among parents and children. Therefore there is an acceptable case for cosmetic correction of severe scaphocephaly in infancy.