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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2012; 39(04): 338-344
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2012.39.4.338
Original Article

Outcome Analysis of Cranial Molding Therapy in Nonsynostotic Plagiocephaly

Han-Su Yoo
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Institute for Human Tissue Restoration, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Dong Kyun Rah
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Institute for Human Tissue Restoration, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Yong Oock Kim
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Institute for Human Tissue Restoration, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
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Background It is known that nonsynostotic plagiocephaly does not spontaneously improve, and the craniofacial deformities that result from it. This study was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of helmet therapy for the nonsynostotic plagiocephaly patient, and to suggest a new treatment strategy based on this analysis.

Methods A total of 108 pediatric patients who had undergone helmet therapy after being diagnosed with nonsynostotic plagiocephaly were included in this study. The patients were classified according to the initiation age of the helmet therapy, severity, and helmet wearing time. The treatment effect was compared using cranial vault asymmetry (CVA) and the cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI), which were obtained from diagonal measurements before and after therapy.

Results The discrepancy of CVA and CVAI of all the patients significantly decreased after helmet therapy. According to the initiation time of helmet therapy, the treatment effect was best at 5 months old or less. The helmet wearing time per day was proportional to the treatment effect up to 20 hours. In addition, the rate of the successful treatment (final CVA ≤5 mm) significantly decreased when the initiation age was 9.1 months or older and the treatment period was less than 7.83 months.

Conclusions This study showed the effectiveness of the helmet therapy for nonsynostotic plagiocephaly patients. Based on analysis of this study, helmet therapy should be started at the age of 9 months or younger for 7.83 months or more, and the helmet wearing time should be more than 20 hours a day.

Keywords

Head protective device - Plagicephaly, nonsynostotic - Treatment outcome

This article was presented at the 69th Congress of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons on November 11-13 2011 in Seoul, Korea.




Publication History

Received: 08 March 2012

Accepted: 14 May 2012

Article published online:
01 May 2022

© 2012. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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