The misdiagnosis of craniosynostosis as deformational plagiocephaly.

Deformational plagiocephaly, unilateral coronal craniosynostosis, and lambdoid craniosynostosis all cause oblique deformities of the skull. They are separate entities with different etiologies resulting in clear differences of physical examination, radiologic findings, and clinical course. Treatment for each condition is markedly different. Surgical intervention is recommended for unilateral coronal and lambdoid craniosynostosis using different techniques. Deformational plagiocephaly, on the other hand, is often satisfactorily managed with conservative treatment. We present 4 clinical reports on patients in whom unilateral coronal craniosynostosis and lambdoid craniosynostosis were originally misdiagnosed as occipital deformational plagiocephaly and highlight individual structural distinctions.