Outcome analysis for correction of single suture craniosynostosis using resorbable fixation

A retrospective review was performed on 63 patients at Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite who underwent correction of single-suture cran iosynostosis using a resorbable fixation system. Included in the series wer e 24 patients with metopic synostosis, 15 with sagittal synostosis, and 24 with unicoronal synostosis. The average age at operation was 22.7 months (r ange: 2.8 months-18 years), and mean follow-up time was 30.7 months (range: 7.1-10 years). Reoperation equal to or exceeding the magnitude of the orig inal procedure occurred in 4.76% of the patients. This was comparable to th e reoperation rate observed at our institution using traditional fixation s ystems. Minor complications related to the use of resorbable plates were al so identified, and the final outcome for single-suture synostosis was favor able. Results suggest that resorbable plates and screws are as effective as titanium-based systems in the treatment of single-suture synostosis.