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Abstract
Bathrocephaly is a posterior cranial deformity associated with failure of fusion of the mendosal suture. Infants are born with a prominent occipital bone. Here we discuss a case report of bathrocephaly in a newborn discussing management, imaging finding, differential diagnosis and relevant bony anatomy and development.
Key words
Bathrocephaly, mendosal suture.
Introduction
Bathrocepahly is posterior cranial deformity in which the mendosal suture fails to fuse. It has been described as a step-like deformity of the occipital bone. Due to the failure of the suture to fuse appropriately, the patients are often found to have a significant bulge of the interparietal portion of the occipital bone (Mulliken and Le, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to discuss a recent case of bathrocephaly seen at our institution. We will also discuss the relevant bony development, differential diagnosis, and management options.
Case report
The patient is a product of a 39 weeks gestation birth through Caesarean section secondary to breech positioning. He was discharged home and seen in our clinic five days after birth due to a prominence in the occipital region noted by the pediatrician. X-rays were obtained by the primary physician to workup craniosynostosis or skull fracture. At the time of presentation, he was noted to have a head circumference of 37 cm, which placed him at 25th-30th percentile. Both his anterior and posterior fontanelles were noted to be open. The sagittal and bilateral coronal sutures were noted to be open as well as the left lambdoid suture and the superior portion of the right lambdoid suture. He was noted to have no neurologic deficits on examination. His x-ray showed open sagittal and bilateral coronal sutures (Figure 1). The left lamb d oid suture was also open, but the right was diminished. In addition, a significant occipital boss was seen. After obtaining appropriate digital imaging (Figure 2), the plan was to have the patient return to clinic in approximately 1 month with the working diagnosis of bathrocephaly. Upon returning to the clinic, his head circumference was 38 cm, placing him at 30th percentile. Fie remained...