Surgical Management of Complex Syndromic Craniosynostosis: Experience With a Rare Genetic Variant

Patients with syndromic craniosynostosis (CS) can present with both intracranial and extracranial manifestations. Extracranial features include proptosis, exorbitism, and midface hypoplasia. Intracranial manifestations can include elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), brainstem compression, foramen magnum stenosis or jugular foramen hypoplasia with resultant venous hypertension and anomalous drainage. While fronto-orbital advancement, cranial vault remodeling, and posterior fossa decompression are standard surgical approaches to normalizing orbito-cranial volume and morphology, associated hydrocephalus, anomalous venous drainage, and tonsillar herniation often affect the timing, safety, and selection of corrective interventions. The surgical decision-making to circumvent venous emissaries, effectively time treatment of hydrocephalus, and address posterior versus anterior pathology primarily has not been widely described in the literature, and is important in the development of guidelines in these complex cases. In this report, we describe the surgical management of a patient with Jackson-Weiss syndrome presenting with delayed, but rapidly progressive bilateral lambdoid CS, severe proptosis, midface hypoplasia, elevated ICP, hydrocephalus, tonsillar ectopia, and severe venous hypertension with anomalous drainage. We review the literature related to management of complex synostosis and present our surgical decision-making in the setting of complex syndromic synostosis to aid in the formation of guidelines toward approaching these cases.