The characteristic feature of deformational scaphocephaly is that the head shape is long and narrowed on the sides. One of the most important reasons for the occurrence of scaphocephaly is that the infants constantly lie on their sides. Although scaphocephaly is an abnormal development of the head from the front and back, it is also asymmetric in proportion to the skull from the sides like symmetrical brachycephaly.
Premature babies are more prone to have scaphocephaly because they are usually placed in the lateral position for easier follow-up in Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) units. The STARband treatment focuses on normalizing the ratio of length to width of the skull.
Deformational Scaphocephaly can be confused with sagittal suture synostosis, a kind of craniosynostosis that requires surgery. The difference between them is that while the sagittal suture in the skull is closed in craniosynostosis, it is open in deformational scaphocephaly. Ideally, it is important to operate on infants with closed sagittal sutures around three months of age. Cases like deformational scaphocephaly, where the suture is open, can be treated with the STARband helmet without any surgery.
For Sagittal Suture Synostosis (Scaphocephaly), please click!