National Longitudinal Comparison of Patients Undergoing Surgical Management of Craniosynostosis

Limited cross-institutional studies compare strip craniectomy versus cranial vault remodeling (CVR) for craniosynostosis management. Given competing surgical preferences, the authors conducted a large-scale analysis of socioeconomic differences, costs, and complications between treatment options. Nonsyndromic craniosynostosis patients receiving strip craniectomies or CVR were identified in the Kids' Inpatient Database for years 2000 to 2009. Demographics, socioeconomic background, hospital characteristics, charge, and outcomes were tabulated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for comparison. Two hundred fifty-one strip craniectomies and 1811 CVR patients were captured. Significantly more strip craniectomy patients were White while more CVR patients were Hispanic or Black (P