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In the beautiful moment of holding her newborn son for the first time, Kirsty sensed there was something unusual about Morgan.

“I instantly noticed it. His head had a funny shape, like a lemon,� Kirsty said.

Although it’s common for babies to be born with an elongated or uneven shaped head, Morgan’s did not remould to round in the following weeks as normal.

On a visit to Gosford Hospital at three months old, he was diagnosed via a computerized tomography (CT) scan with sagittal synostosis. This is the most common form of craniosynostosis and occurs when the two bones in the middle of the skull fuse prematurely in the midline. This results in the baby’s head only being able to grow in a ‘forward and backward� direction.

For children with craniosynostosis, early intervention is vital and so Morgan was referred to The Craniofacial Unit at The Children’s Hospital Westmead (CHW), where under the specialist care of A/Prof Damian Marucci, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, and his multidisciplinary team. Morgan underwent surgery.

“Premature fusion of bones of the skull can not only lead to an unusual head shape, but also cause pressure on the brain and affect development,� A/Prof Marucci said.

“The best time to operate on a child with craniosynostosis is before they are one year old as the bones are still soft and easy to work with, which is why early intervention by a specialist service like ours is so important.�

Morgan was a candidate for spring assisted cranioplasty, a less-invasive surgical treatment that uses internal springs to widen the sutures (tissue that connects bones of the skull). The springs are then left in the skull to encourage change in cranial shape over several months following the surgery, before eventually being removed.

Morgan had his first surgery at five months old and the second at eight months old.

The results were life changing.

“Spring-assisted cranioplasty is a really effective procedure for sagittal synostosis. It is less invasive and means children like Morgan spend less time in hospital and can get back home sooner,� Dr Marucci said.

Kirsty and her husband, Cameron, have nothing but praise for the craniofacial team, saying they went above and beyond to support the family through what was a most difficult time.

A/Prof Marucci and his team are incredible. It felt like a personable experience and they understood we were going through a really hard time, the worst time ever,� Kirsty said.

“There are so many emotions and stresses with having a child undergo surgery, with a sense of guilt of putting them through that too. It also happened during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 which brought its own challenges.

“But they were there for us, took us seriously, help kept us grounded in always saying the right thing.�

Morgan is now two years old and is thriving, only needing a check in with the craniofacial team once annually.

“There were amazing results. You look at Morgan now and the only thing noticeable is his scar but even then, his hair is growing around it now,� Kirsty said.

“He is meeting all his milestones and leading a typical toddler life. He is going to daycare, wrestling with his older brother and sister and always wanting to make you laugh. We are so thankful to his team.�