PCVD is an effective surgical method to increase intracranial volume in a variety of clinical entities. Volumetric results of this procedure could be easily evaluated using 3-D photogrammetric imaging or plane radiographs that expose the patients to only low ionizing radiation doses.

Variables commonly assigned to the same unit of the facial skeleton can exhibit rather different growth trends, but some measurements display seemingly coordinated patterns of growth change. The level of interindividual variation of most measurements is stable after the second half of the first year of life.

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This study focuses on the role of the nasal region and its interactions with adjacent facial elements during early ontogeny. A series of linear measurements, areas and volumes were extracted from a collection of 227 medical CTscans of children from 0 to 6 years of age. These measurements describe aspects of the form of the orbit, maxilla, peri-alveolar (subnasal) region, nasal area, eye, oral region, masseter, and temporal muscles. Hypothesized interactions were then examined using path analysis. Two paths were designed: the first to investigate potential interactions in, and relative contributions of the nasal derivatives and adjacent regions to overall facial growth and development; the second path sees the addition of facial soft tissue measurements and aims to assess their effects on skeletal components, and on overall facial growth and development. The results of the first path indicate a large contribution of the nasal and subnasal regions to facial development. This indicates that the nasal septum and the developing dentition provide an important but variable contribution to facial ontogeny during early years. This result is confirmed in the second path, where the soft tissue elements were added to the diagram. Results of the second path indicate that the soft tissues contribute only locally to the development of some skeletal elements of the face. This indicates that the contribution of skeletal components has a more direct effect on facial height than soft tissue matrices, however there are complex interactions between soft tissues and skeletal elements throughout ontogeny.

Endoscopic endonasal surgery is a safe, effective, and minimally invasive technique for treatment of meningocele and meningoencephalocele, which enables resection of a hernia sac and reconstruction of dura mater and skull base defects.

Posterior cranial vault distraction is an effective technique when a significant increase in the intracranial volume is required in patients with craniosynostoses. This technique has been proven to be safe and time saving and usually is associated with low perioperative morbidity as well as low intraoperative bleeding. Herein a technique is presented starting from the preoperative planning, describing the surgical steps of the operation and the postoperative distraction protocol used by the authors. The authors present important tips and tricks aiming to minimise complications and undesired events.

Background Distraction techniques are effective methods for the treatment of craniosynostoses when a significant gain of an intracranial volume is required. However, this technique raises some challenges at different stages of the treatment. While installing the distractors in patients with thin calvarial bone, there is a risk of dural damage from the titanium screws. The need for wide exposure of the devices and the screws during removal causes soft tissue damage and bleeding. Objective This study aimed to evaluate sonic pin use in the distraction procedures. Methods Resorbable sonic pins were used in 11 consecutive posterior cranial vault distraction procedures to attach distraction devices to the calvarial bone. Results This method allowed for a less traumatic and faster removal of the devices without the risk of leaving foreign bodies in the wound. In three out of 11 cases on follow-up, displacement of proximal distractor footplate and partial relapse of distraction were detected. Though there was a smaller volume increase in these patients, all of them benefited clinically from the PCVD and did not require reoperations. Conclusions This method allows a strong and stable attachment of the distractor devices to the cranial vault bones with a reduced risk of dural tears due to the screws. It also allows for easier and less traumatic device removal.

Recent studies have supported the presence and varying nature of craniofacial sexual dimorphism (SD) from the very first stages of ontogeny. But the exact patterns of between‐sex differences during the first years of life remain obscure despite the importance of these data for craniofacial surgery treatment and forensic studies. Our study employs a large dataset of clinical computed tomography scans of individuals of East Slavonic descent from birth to 5 years of age (247 males and 184 females) to address the pattern of age‐related between‐sex differences in 22 linear measurements of the mid‐face. At birth, SD of most dimensions is low, but it increases significantly during the first year of life. The level of SD of most variables fluctuates in both directions during the second year and peaks during the third and fourth years of life. During the sixth year, SD of about half of the variables markedly decreases. In adults, SD of all variables increases, but to a very different extent: from 2% to 13%. Most sexually dimorphic features of the facial skeleton begin to develop early in postnatal ontogeny and then may or may not become accentuated during puberty. Importantly, the patterns of age changes in the level of SD differ strongly between various dimensions, and so cannot be expressed by a single value for the whole face. Additionally, the level of SD for a particular variable is not ontogenetically stable during the first years of life.