A roentgencephalometric study of 12 adult patients with crouzon syndrome: part two

We previously have reported on the results of a cephalometric analysis of patients with the Crouzon syndrome involving the midface, and had divided them into three groups. Further, based on their patterns of deformity, osteotomies for each of these groups also were schematically suggested. In the present study, we have continued our research and have analyszed their cranial shape and the cranial base of such patients: Standard values were obtained from a hundred set of normal cephalograms from our outpatient office, and the results of this cephalometric analysis has revealed that nine patients out of ten showed brachycephly, while the remaining patients showed scaphocephly. Among the brachycephlic patients, eight had an obviously small cranium. Differences seen in the results of cranial base analysis allowed us to divide the cranial base angles into three groups. One presented a small cranial base angle within the normal limit, another featured a large angle within the normal limit, and the third had an extraordinarily large angle. We also found a certain relationship between the cranial shape and cranial base angle. Results of this study suggests that the more the cranium is affected with premature sutural synostosis, the more the cranial base is likely to be affected with a premature fusion of cranial synchondroses.