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Craniosynostosis

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Nursing Care of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Patient

Abstract

Craniosynostosis is the premature closure of one or more cranial sutures. Sometimes the entire suture is fused, but even a partial fusion can cause a deformity, as the skull growth is restricted. Although the clinical condition of craniosynostosis was described by Hippocrates in BC 400, effective treatments have only been developed in the last century [9]. In 1800, Sömmering described the anatomic structures of calvarial sutures and the results of premature closure [54]. However, the German pathologist Rudolf Virchow first used the term craniostenosis and proposed that “outward growth of the skull is restricted in a direction perpendicular to the prematurely fused suture and compensatory growth occurs in the patent sutures” [58]. This restriction of growth in one direction and compensatory growth in others accounts for the classic skull deformities seen in craniosynostosis.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery, University of Missouri Health Care, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA

    Cathy C. Cartwright RN, MSN, PCNS (Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist)

  2. Craniofacial Program, Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, New York University Medical Center, 560 First Avenue, H169, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Patricia Chibbaro RN, MS, CPNP (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner)

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  1. Cathy C. Cartwright RN, MSN, PCNS
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  2. Patricia Chibbaro RN, MS, CPNP
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery, University of Missouri Health Care, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA

    Cathy C. Cartwright RN, MSN, PCNS (Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist) (Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist)

  2. Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, 500 West Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85013, USA

    Donna C. Wallace RN, MS, CPNP (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner) (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner)

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Cartwright, C.C., Chibbaro, P. (2007). Craniosynostosis. In: Cartwright, C.C., Wallace, D.C. (eds) Nursing Care of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Patient. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29704-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29704-8_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-29703-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29704-8

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