Another metopic question

[navyjen]

Ok so here goes. I hope this makes sense I plan on asking the CFS when I see him January 11th but here is my question will the distance between temple to temple increase ever if Camryn doesnt have surgery. I guess I mean will her head get any wider in the front? DO you know what I mean? I know its a confusing question but if I need to explain further I will.

[Mindy]

I know exactly what you mean and asked our cfs and NS the same question. I was told that yes, the forehead will continue to grow by laying down more bone. Just as the bones in our arms and legs grow by depositing more bone, so does the skull. Remember that the metopic suture normally does close in infancy so the skull continues to thicken as we grow.

[Debbied]

Good response Mindy, I actually did not know the answer to that! I can say that in Henry's case it does appear to have grown some, his headshape is different than it was, still narrow at temples but it does not look like the whole bone just stopped growing if you know what I mean..

[angeleka]

Andrew's grew which I believe is what made the trig worse. As his forehead grew, it grew in the direction of his ears instead of straight across. Does that make sense? It is hard to explain without a diagram or pics.
The skull has to grow to make room for the brain. It just depends how the bones and soft tissue have formed. This determines the direction the bone will grow. If the suture closed before birth, by birth the soft tissue has shaped itself to that bone and will inhibit the bone from growing in the proper direction.
I hope I have explained this well enough.
Good luck on the 11th.

[Mindy]

In cases where trig is present (and I tend to think that this is apparent when the suture closes in utero), the trig will worsen as the skull continues to expand at the open sutures. When the brain has done most of it's growth (by about 2 hrs of age), the skull will continue to grow by laying down more bone. I hope that makes sense.

[Shar]

It is possible to have the metopic suture closed inutero and not have a triangular shape (such as in my dd's case). Inutero metopic closure does not always = trigonocephaly. Probably because, as Mindy said, the metopic closes very early in life. I've read studies that suggest it can close as early as 3 months of age, with 3 to 6 months being typical. So what I'm trying to say is if you are worried that your dd's forehead won't grow correctly, my opinion is that if the forehead plates fused in a triangular fashion - yes, you're going to see that shape continue and worsen. But if she's got a typical forehead shape with just a speed bump on the metopic, it's probably not going to be an issue for her and she should have normal forehead growth.