Facial asymmetry persists despite surgery

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A degree of facial asymmetry is evident years after corrective surgery for infants for a congenital condition, a U.S. researcher found

Dr. Albert Oh, director of the craniofacial surgery program at Hasbro Children's Hospital, in Providence, R.I., said craniosynostosis is a medical condition in which some or all of the sutures in the skull of an infant or child close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth.

"Although there appears to be some lingering asymmetry years after many of these patients underwent corrective surgery, most patients and their families don't notice these differences, which do not appear to pose any significant health risks," Oh said in a statement. "Nevertheless, it's important that we understand more about this asymmetry, which could lead to improvements of the operation and further our knowledge regarding the cause of craniosynostosis."

In the study, Oh and colleagues used three-dimensional photo technology known as photogrammetry to digitally measure the faces of 15 adult and adolescent patients with unilateral coronal synostosis who had undergone corrective surgery during infancy.

The findings are published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Oh led this research while at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School.