Late deformity/indentation is well-recognised following fronto-orbital remodelling (FOR) for metopic synostosis. We hypothesise that if damage to temporalis muscle was a contributor, thickness of soft tissue and bone in the affected area would be reduced.Soft tissues and bone were separately segmented and 3D reconstructed from CTs of 8 patients 1.5-18 years post-FOR performed at 16±2 months for metopic synostosis and from 8 agematched controls. Soft tissue (taken as proxy for temporalis muscle) and bone thickness overall and in the indented areas were computed.Post-FOR, 3D soft tissue thickness maps demonstrated temporalis extending upwards but falling short of the indented area. Overall skull thickness increased with age post-FOR (logarithmic fit R 2 = 0.71) and for controls (R 2 =0.90). Although immediately post-FOR the future indented area had a thickness of 98% of control, it decreased linearly to 64% 16 years later (Pearson's r=0.84).These findings suggest that late post-FOR deformity/indentation is enhanced by limited upward extension (or retraction downwards) of temporalis muscle while bone thickness in the affected area gradually decreases. This supports the hypothesis that aberrant re-attachment of the temporalis muscle makes a material contribution to late deformity following FOR for metopic synostosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.