Strip ostectomy and radical ostectomy in the treatment of craniosynostosis. An experimental animal study.

In an experimental animal study using rabbits, growth phenomena were simulated which are comparable to craniosynostosis in humans. The radiological and histological findings after surgical management of these artificial craniosynostosis by means of strip ostectomy or radical ostectomy were compared with the findings obtained in control animals. Following strip ostectomy, bone defects were rapidly filled by the formation of suture-like structures. After radical ostectomy, structures consisting of connective tissue dispersed among islands of ossification were preserved over a considerable period of time, making it possible for the calvarium to adapt to the fast-growing brain. In contrast to strip ostectomy, after radical ostectomy growth of both the neurocranium and the viscerocranium, as well as the total sagittal growth of the skull, were almost identical to the corresponding growth in the control animals.