Ophthalmic features of craniosynostosis: A Malaysian experience

Ocular manifestations and treatment progress of Crouzon syndrome

PURPOSE

Crouzon syndrome is a congenital genetic disease caused by mutations of the FGFR2 gene on chromosome 10. It is usually inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern and is one of the most common types of craniosynostosis syndromes. This article focuses on the ophthalmology-related aspects of Crouzon syndrome in order to help diagnose and develop personalized treatment plans.

METHODS

A combined systematic search of PubMed electronic database by using Boolean operators AND and OR was conducted, choosing the following keywords: "Crouzon", "craniosynostosis", " eye ", " oculus ", " ocular ", " ophthalmic ", " ophthalmologic ", " ophthalmology ", " globe ", " orbit ", " exophthalmos ", " exorbitism ", " keratopathy ", " visual " etc. After the initial screening of these articles, repetitive literatures were excluded.

RESULTS

47 articles were selected. This article introduces the ocular manifestations, possible pathogenesis and treatment progress in Crouzon syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of ocular abnormalities in Crouzon syndrome is very high, such as shallow orbits, exophthalmos, hypertelorism, exposure keratopathy, strabismus, optic neuropathy, ametropia, glaucoma, etc. The pathogenesis of these ocular abnormalities is related to orbital deformities. Most of the treatments are aimed at compensating the abnormal anatomic structure at present.

Strabismus and refraction in non-syndromic craniosynostosis - A longitudinal study up to 5 years of age

PURPOSE

To evaluate the refractive outcome and strabismus at 5 years of age, in children operated for various types of non-syndromic craniosynostosis, and further analyse the refractive and strabismic development over time.

METHODS

Eighty-nine children, who had undergone operations for non-syndromic craniosynostosis, were examined at 5 years of age. These children also underwent ophthalmological examination preoperatively and up to 1 year after the operation. An age-matched control group including 32 healthy children was also recruited. Strabismus and eye motility were registered. Refraction was measured in cycloplegia.

RESULTS

There was a difference regarding the refractive outcome between the different types of craniosynostosis. Higher values of hypermetropia were found in the metopic craniosynostosis group on both eyes. In the unicoronal craniosynostosis group, high values of hypermetropia and a higher degree of astigmatism were found on the side contralateral to the craniosynostosis. Strabismus was found in 11/88 children of whom 10/11 had unicoronal craniosynostosis. A vertical deviation on the side ipsilateral to the fused suture was highly prevalent (6/10 cases). Ophthalmological dysfunctions were rare in children operated for sagittal craniosynostosis.

CONCLUSION

Ocular manifestations such as strabismus, astigmatism and anisometropia were highly prevalent in children operated for unilateral coronal craniosynostosis. Children operated for metopic craniosynostosis had higher rates of hypermetropia. The screening and follow-up protocols need to be tailored with regard to the type of craniosynostosis.

Skeletal expansion via craniofacial distraction osteogenesis technique in syndromic craniosynostosis: impact on ophthalmic parameters

BACKGROUND

This study aims to compare the changes in ophthalmic parameters among syndromic craniosynostosis patients who underwent craniofacial skeletal expansion procedures via distraction osteogenesis (DO).

METHOD

A retrospective study was conducted involving syndromic craniosynostosis patients who underwent surgical expansion via the DO technique from the year 2012 to March 2022. Changes in six parameters which consist of visual acuity, refractive error, optic disc health, intraocular pressure, degree of proptosis and orbital volume were measured objectively pre and post-surgery. For categorical parameters, the Chi-square cross-tab test was done. Paired sample T-test was used for normally distributed variables. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for non-normally distributed data.

RESULTS

Visual impairment was present in 21.4% of eyes before surgery and increased to 28.5% post-surgery. Three patients had changes of refractive error post-surgery with one developed hypermetropia, another developed anisometropia and the last had improvement to no refractive error. Two patients had optic disc swelling which was resolved post-surgery. Intraocular pressure changes were inconsistent post-surgery. All patients achieved a significant reduction in the degree of proptosis post-surgery. Orbital volume calculation using computed tomography (CT) scans shows a significant increase in volume post-surgery for all patients.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows a significant increase in orbital volume post-surgery with a reduction in the degree of proptosis. Optic disc and nerve health improved after the surgery. Changes in terms of visual acuity, refractive error and IOP were inconsistent after the surgical intervention.

Nonsyndromic Craniofacial Disorders

We describe the investigation and management of select pediatric craniofacial disorders their recent advances. Positional plagiocephaly: The incidence of positional plagiocephaly has increased since the institution of the "safe to sleep" campaign to reduce sudden infant death syndrome. Positional plagiocephaly may be associated with underlying developmental delay. Nonsyndromic craniosynostosis: Treatment of nonsyndromic craniosynostosis depends on the age of the patient and the suture involved. Pediatric skull lesions: Management of skull lesions depends on histologic diagnosis. Some benign skull lesions are managed conservatively, whereas erosive and malignant lesions may require surgical excision, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or multimodality treatment.