Craniofacial disorders in children is a broad term that encompasses dozens of different head and face disorders. In most cases, children are born with craniofacial disorders, but they can also develop over the first several years of life. There’s speculation that the environment and vitamin deficiencies can cause craniofacial disorders in children, but genetics will typically play a role.
There are many different conditions that get categorized as craniofacial disorders in children. The most common include cleft palates or cleft lips, haemangiomas, craniosynostosis, vascular malformations, and more. The common theme of these disorders is that they will affect the physical appearance of the face and/or head. While the exact treatment for a craniofacial disorder will vary depending on the condition and its severity, here are some of the most common treatment options.
The first and least invasive option for correcting a craniofacial disorder in a child is to make mechanical adjustments. The bones and tissue of young children are much more flexible and malleable than those of an adult. Therefore, if the condition isn’t too severe and you start treatment right away, there’s a chance your doctor can correct the condition without surgery. However, this only works in certain conditions when there’s minimal head or facial damage.
In most cases with a craniofacial disorder, surgery is inevitable. However, depending on the disorder and its severity, you might be able to get away with minimally invasive surgery. Minimally invasive surgeries are typically performed on children less than 3 months old and can be done without fully opening up the child’s face or skull. In most cases, your child will have to wear a special helmet that redirects the bones into the correct position following the surgery.
Depending on the craniofacial disorder, one surgery might be enough to fix the problem. In other cases, your child might need multiple surgeries to fix the problem. This is often the case if a child has surgery at a very young age, but the problem reoccurs as they get older and their skull grows larger.
If your child has craniosynostosis or other serious craniofacial disorders, they will require extensive craniofacial surgery to repair their skull and face. Craniofacial surgery is the name of a corrective surgery that can include many different things, but it always includes a total reconstruction of the head and face.
Because of how invasive this surgery is, it is often the most effective, but it also has the most risk. As a result, it is used when other treatments are ineffective and invasive surgery is the only option. Invasive surgery often includes the total reshaping of the skull and facial bones using metal plates, wires, screws, and more.
Depending on the condition your child has, they might not be able to undergo corrective surgery until they are older. If this is the case, they might encounter bullying from other children throughout the day. Therefore, children with craniofacial disorders often require counselling and behaviour therapy to cope with their condition.
The main potential side effects of treatments for craniofacial disorders in children are if something goes wrong during their surgery. A bad surgery can result in permanent injury to your child, scarring, and potentially even death. However, corrective surgery for craniofacial disorders in children has come a long way, and they often go off without a problem.
Because of the nature of craniofacial disorders in children, surgery is often the only way to correct the problem. While surgery will always have some risks, it’s well worth it so that your child can live a normal life and look like all the other kids.