Facial scoliosis due to sternocleidomastoid torticollis: a cephalometric analysis

Facial scoliosis can be caused by either the plagiocephaly which arises from unilateral coronal suture synostosis, or by the effects of sternocleidomastoid torticollis. Despite publications which have presented the key clinical and radiographic craniofacial differentiating features, confusion between the two still persists. This report presents the essential cephalometric features found in sternocleidomastoid torticollis, which may be applied to confirm the diagnosis in those cases which present late, and which do not exhibit the characteristic features of synostosis.