A LONGITUDINAL, STATISTICAL STUDY OF REOPERATION RATES IN CRANIOSYNOSTOSIS

A prospective, statistical study of reoperation rates was done in the treatment of 167 consecutive children with nonsyndromic and syndromic craniosynostosis over a 6-year period at Scottish Rite Children's Medi cal Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Mean length of follow-up was 2.8 years , with a range of 3 months to 6 years. Reoperation equal to or exceedi ng the magnitude of the original procedure occurred in 7 percent of ca ses. Multiple regression analysis revealed several factors associated with reoperation: Females and children with syndromic synostoses were more likely to require reoperation. Total reoperation rates for syndro mic and nonsyndromic synostoses were 27.3 and 5.9 percent, respectivel y. Age at initial surgery, length of operation, and estimated blood lo ss did not predict a higher reoperation rate.