• Anand Veeravagu, Tej D Azad, and Bowen Jiang.
• Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
• World Neurosurg. 2018 Feb 1; 110: 256-262.

BackgroundSpontaneous intrauterine depressed skull fractures (IDSFs) are rare fractures that often require neurosurgical evaluation and therapy. Most of the reported congenital depressions are secondary to maternal abdominal trauma or instrumentation during delivery. Spontaneous IDSFs occur in the setting of uneventful normal spontaneous vaginal delivery or cesarean section, without obvious predisposing risk factors. The etiology and optimal management of spontaneous IDSFs remain controversial.Case DescriptionWe describe 2 cases of spontaneous IDSF who underwent cranioplasty at our institution using an absorbable mesh, as well as review the current state of knowledge regarding the diagnosis and management of spontaneous IDSF. The 2 neonates, 1 male and 1 female, presented at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital with spontaneous IDSF after uneventful normal spontaneous vaginal deliveries. The fractures were located in the left frontal and right parietotemporal calvarium, respectively. Both patients underwent open craniotomy and elevation of their IDSFs with mesh cranioplasty. At last follow-up, both patients were normocephalic and neurologically intact.ConclusionsNeurosurgery consultation is necessary for initial evaluation of spontaneous IDSF. Surgical intervention is indicated for larger defects and/or intracranial involvement. Expectant management and negative-pressure elevation have also been shown to be effective.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

3 keywords...

hide…