Photogrammetric evaluation of corrective surgery for trigonocephaly

The aim of this study was to capture preoperative, postoperative, and follow-up head shapes of male trigonocephaly patients who underwent frontoorbital remodelling (FOR), using three-dimensional (3D) photography. Fifty-seven male infants with metopic synostosis operated on using standardized FOR during a 5-year period were included. All measurements were compared with those of an age-matched healthy control cohort (n = 253 for early postoperative comparison, n = 43 for the 1-year follow-up comparison) to determine the effect of FOR at 14 days and at 1 year post-surgery. Intracranial volume, frontal angle, nasofrontal angle, interfrontoparietal-interparietal ratio, and inter-orbital distances were measured 1 day preoperatively, 14 days and 1 year postoperatively. Mean age at surgery was 9.7 = 1.1 months. Prior to surgery, boys with metopic synostosis showed a reduced interfrontoparietal-interparietal ratio (-4.9%, P < 0.01), and orbital distances (-6.5%, P < 0.001) compared to the reference group, but values did not differ significantly from the specific control group after surgery (all P> 0.05). This was consistent by the time of the follow-up examination. Corrective surgery should therefore aim to achieve volume expansion and correction of the deformity. Furthermore, 3D photogrammetry provides a valuable alternative to computed tomography scans in the diagnosis of metopic synostosis, significantly reducing the amount of radiation exposure to the brain.

Automated summary

This study used 3D photography to capture the head shapes of male trigonocephaly patients before surgery, after surgery, and during follow-up. The results showed that after standardized frontoorbital remodelling (FOR) surgery, the head shape of patients was similar to that of the healthy control cohort. Therefore, corrective surgery should focus on volume expansion and correction of the deformity. Additionally, 3D photogrammetry is a valuable alternative to computed tomography scans, reducing radiation exposure to the brain.