| Dr. Stelnicki is the only
surgeon in Florida routinely performing endoscopic craniosynostosis
repair. In addition, our center is only one of a few in the entire
country to perform this technique on a variety of craniosynostosis
types. Our practice was recently honored by being able to present the
first series of endoscopic craniosystosis repair vs traditional
repair. This paper which given at the prestigious International
Craniofacial Society meeting in Monterey California was the first to
carefully analyze the advantages of endoscopic repair over the
traditional open technique. This new technique for treatment of craniosynostosis is
minimally invasive. It creates incisions smaller than 2 cm in length
that are used to access the fused and deformed skull. A specialized
set of endoscopic instruments designed by Dr. Stelnicki, are then
inserted through these holes and used to completely reshape of the
skull without performing a large ear-to-ear incision.
The advantages to endoscopic surgery
are many. The surgery has less blood loss than the traditional repair
and, in many cases, prevents the need for blood transfusion during the
surgery. The endoscopic technique also results in less postoperative
swelling, decreases operative time, and decreases hospital stay by
several days. Postoperative pain is also significantly reduced by this
operation. The other advantage to endoscopic surgery is that there are
no internal screws or plates that are required to hold the bone in
place after surgery. This decreases the risk of plate induced pain,
infection, swelling, or allergic reaction in your child. Dr. Stelnicki
would be glad to discuss the advantages of endoscopic craniosynostosis
surgery versus the classic craniosynostosis repair with you at time of
the initial consultation.
Endoscopic and surgical correction is
available for any patient, under 4 months of age, with a
craniosynostosis. Initially endoscopic craniosynostosis corrections
were restricted to single suture fusions, such as sagittal
craniosynostosis, coronal craniosynostosis, metoptic craniosynostosis,
or lambdoidal craniosynostosis. However, we now know that is also a
useful adjuvant in the treatment of multi-suture craniosynostosis.
When possible, the endoscopic approach is used in the first stage of
these patient's repairs.
Endoscopic craniosynostosis repair must
be combined with the use of a molding band, such as the DOC Band , in
order to normalize skull shape after the surgery. Immediately after
the surgery, you will note a significant improvement in your child's
head. However, the final shape will not bee seen until after 6-8
months of the DOC Band. The DOC Band is an FDA approved device for
molding and protecting the developing head. It has been used on
multiple patients throughout the country following endoscopic
craniosynostosis repair.
Dr. Stelnicki is also a member of an elite set of
surgeons who have designed & created their own endoscopic
craniosynostosis instruments. These tools, which bear our name
and are sold by KLS Martin, are now available to any surgeon around the
world for the treatment of this condition. Our research has
helped in the creation of these instruments and will aid in developing
even newer instruments to better treat children with
craniosynostosis in a minimally invasive fashion.
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