Infant Skull Surgery Changing Tiny Patients' Lives

Dozens of babies are going under the knife in the Ozarks for skull surgery.




The surgery can fix congenital skull deformities.

Craniosynostosis is a condition that happens when a baby's skull prematurely fuses together.

When a babys skull prematurely fuses together at the point often called "the soft spot," the infants brain still continues to grow.

"When the brain continues to grow, a child can develop a condition called scaphocephaly, the brain can bulge out near the forehead and it is narrow and pointy in the back," St. John's Pediatric Neurosurgeon Dr. Sami Khoshyomn says.

Alex Segraves was diagnosed with craniosynostosis.

Alex may only be 4 ½ months old, but hes already had his first surgery.

"Even a month and a half after he was born, his head was still really long so we took him back to the pediatrician," Alexs mother Danielle Segraves says.

Doctors say babies who have more than one prematurely fused soft spot can have more than cosmetic problems.

"It can affect brain growth, it can cause seizures and even severe developmental delay," Dr. Khoshyomn says.

Dr. Khoshyomn and St. Johns plastic surgeon Dr. Bharat Shah are working to prevent that.

They try to operate within the first five to six months of a child's life.

During the surgery, they first remove the abnormal bone.

Then the doctors remodel the skull.

"It's like sculpting or carving. Dr. Shah says. We implant absorbable plates and screws using a tiny ultrasonic screw driver."

After ten months, all those plates and screws disolve, leaving no permanent hardware inside the infant.

The two doctors have made it their mission to perform the surgery on as many infants as possible with congenital skull deformities.

"We decided we have to do this for all children regardless of their ability to pay," Dr. Khoshyomn says.

"If we didn't get the surgery his forehead would keep expanding, we didn't want him to be made fun of. We wanted him to have a normal life," Danielle Segraves says.

Alex will wear a helmet for about six months to make sure his skull is growing properly.

The Segraves call Alex their little football player.

"The great thing about doing this so young is he won't have any memories of it or pain," Alexs father, Shane Segraves says.

Diagnosing and treating this condition early is critical because it gets more risky as the brain grows.




Signs are usually visible but can be confirmed through CAT scans and 3-D images.




Both doctors have performed 30 of these surgeries in Springfield.




Before the team started, local families would have to travel to St. Louis or Kansas City to receive this surgery.

http://www.kspr.com

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[segraves14]

that's my boy. three years later and you can't even tell he has had any surgery

[202Agatha]

i had it too. they said this thing could happen when im a teen which i am now, and my head looks and feels funny we have to go to the doctor :p