Endoscopic cranial suture release for the treatment of craniosynostosis--is it the future?

There has been a circle of treatment in craniofacial surgery, with an original era of strip craniectomy surgeries that transformed into an era of major craniofacial reconstructions. The reason for this transition was the concern that release operations failed to correct the deformity in a substantial percentage of patients and that the larger operations yielded more reliable outcomes. During the past decade, we have seen a return to smaller strip operations, now enhanced with postoperative adjuvant therapy using helmets, springs, and distracters. In this article, the author discusses why this is not simply a return to failed techniques of the past and reviews the status of endoscopic surgery at Children's Hospital Boston.