Medical Business

Craniofacial Surgery

The craniofacial area includes the base of the skull, the facial skeleton and underlying soft tissues, the skull vaults and the scalp. Craniofacial surgery involves repairing damage caused by serious injuries as well as congenital deformities and abnormal growths such as tumors. Congenital deformities include

Clefts of the Lip and Palate:
In these conditions, all of the parts of the lip and roof of the mouth are present, but they have failed to fuse in a normal fashion. Clefts can appear with varying severity: a cleft lip can be incomplete with a fractional notching of the lip, or complete, extending through the lip and into the nose.

Ear Deformities:
In these conditions, the outer ear may be underdeveloped, misshaped, or completely absent.

Premature Fusing of the Bones of the Head in Young Children:
In the normal infant skull, cracks or “sutures” appear in between bones of the head to allow for brain growth. When one of these sutures closes prematurely, the brain continues to grow, but pushes out toward the area of the skull where the sutures are still open. The result is a malformation of the skull and/or face.

Misshapen Jaws:
often caused by misalignment of the teeth and jaws referred to as malocclusion, or mild hypoplasia (inadequate tissue development) which can appear as a recessed upper jaw or other underdeveloped bony area of the face.

Facial asymmetries:
or hemifacial microsomia, a condition wherein one side of the face is smaller than the other, due to underdevelopment of bone and/or cartilage.