Cervical spine anomalies in the craniosynostosis syndromes.

Cervical spine radiographs of 34 patients with a variety of craniosynostosis syndromes were reviewed to determine the incidence and nature of skeletal anomalies and to evaluate the findings in terms of syndromal patterns. Intervertebral fusions occurred in 30 percent of Pfeiffer's, 38 percent of Crouzon's, and 71 percent of Apert's syndrome children. In Crouzon's and Pfeiffer's syndromes, isolated upper cervical fusions were most common; in Apert's syndrome, the fusions were more likely to be complex involving C5-C6. This syndromal variation, however, was not specific enough for diagnostic differentiation.