Children and adults with craniofacial abnormalities should be seen at multi-disciplinary, craniofacial team centers. The NJ Craniofacial Team provides comprehensive care for children and support for their families. For scheduling an appointment with the NJ Craniofacial Team, please call 973-326-9000.
Infants, children and adolescents with congenital or acquired craniofacial disorders often have complex medical and surgical problems involving facial appearance, feeding, swallowing, hearing, ear infections, speech and breathing, dental and oromaxillofacial development. These all affect the psychosocial development of the child. These children require innovative, cross-disciplinary care. Our team of specialists at NJ Craniofacial Center collaborates to provide each patient and their family, individualized, short and long-term care plans for the best medical treatment possible.
Please read through our glossary of terms, to become familiar with many of the conditions and syndromes that have successfully been treated by the NJ Craniofacial Center Team.
Repositioning, physical therapy and cranial helmet therapy are treatments that help babies with skull irregularities and problems with head shape. MILD asymmetry may be treated with just repositioning and physical therapy, whereas severe plagiocephaly may require a cranial molding helmet. Only in rare cases, where craniosynostosis exists and the bones are fused, do crani0-facial surgeons need to operate.
Infants and children may have lumps or bumps on their head. These bumps may be in teh scalp or in teh skull. Sometimes, x-rays or ultrasounds need to be used, to determine where these lumps or bumps are coming from. Rarely, a craniofacial surgeon needs to remove the growth, before it invades into the skull. It is best to see an opinion from a craniofacial surgeon about whether or not a skull lesion needs to be removed.
There are many different kinds of cysts and tumors that occur in the skull and scalp. MOST are benig growths that once removed, never grow back. There are very rare tumors that do invade into teh bone of the skull that may be cancerous, and those tumors may require treatment with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Often children are born with small birthmarks of teh skull or scalp. Sometimes, if the birthmark is on the face, parents want the birthmark removed. Craniofacial plastic surgeons specialize in the surgical removal of congenital, facial birthmarks.
Infants and children may be born with skull defects or holes in the skull. Craniofacial surgeons often repair these skull holes with childrens’ own bone, or synthetic material that changes into bone over time. Children may have experienced severe head or facial trauma, from car accidents or dog bites. Craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgeons specialize in repairing children’s faces to give them the best cosmetic outcomes possible.
Sometimes infants and children are found to have big heads (macrocephaly). This may be a benign condition taht is usually inherited, if many family members have big heads. Sometimes it may be caused by a little extra cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around teh brain. Most infants will have an ultrasound of teh head that shows the extra fluid spaces around the brain. This condition is called “benign external hydrocephalus”. Most babies outgrow this condition and are followed until the condition resolves. Rarely, infants or children develop hydrocephalus that requires surgery. Children with hydrocephalus that require surgery may be treated with an endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) or a shunt, which is like a soft stent, that drains out the extra fluid and lowers pressure on teh brain.
Babies with small heads are also sent to our NJ Craniofacial Center. Again, this condition may be familial and benign. Other times, the bones of the skull may be sticky or fusing, so a skull x-ray is done to check teh sutures of the skull. Once craniosynostosis is ruled out, if a babies head still is not growing properly, our team may recommend a MRI, genetic or metabolic studies and tests, or an EEG to look at brain activity.
These facial asymmetriesmay be seen alone, or as part of a syndrome. Often, children do not require surgery at all, but those that do require preparative steps that lead up to a successful surgery. Teenagers who require facial surgery truly benefit from our pediatric psychologists support and counseling as surgery is discussed and planned.
To schedule a private consultation with NJ Craniofacial Center, please call our office or request an appointment online. We look forward to your visit.
131 Madison Avenue, Third Floor, Morristown, NJ 07960