Biomaterial Database

The natural history of an untreated growing skull fracture: an unusual case. 2010

Navneet Singla, and Sunil Kumar Gupta

Department of Neurosurgery, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India. drnavi2007@yahoo.co.in

BACKGROUND An uncommon complication of fractures of the skull is a growing skull fracture (GSF), which is usually seen in children less than 3 years of age. A posttraumatic GSF presenting in adolescents and adults is uncommon and may cause significant management problems. METHODS A 16-year-old male presented with a progressively increasing scalp swelling following trauma in infancy. The diagnosis and treatment was delayed until the swelling had enlarged to enormous size with ventriculomegaly and development of seizures. The patient was managed with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. CONCLUSIONS Untreated GSFs may cause delayed-onset neurological manifestations in addition to cranial growth asymmetry. These enormous-sized GSFs may be difficult to treat.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D001929	Brain Edema	Increased intracellular or extracellular fluid in brain tissue. Cytotoxic brain edema (swelling due to increased intracellular fluid) is indicative of a disturbance in cell metabolism, and is commonly associated with hypoxic or ischemic injuries (see HYPOXIA, BRAIN). An increase in extracellular fluid may be caused by increased brain capillary permeability (vasogenic edema), an osmotic gradient, local blockages in interstitial fluid pathways, or by obstruction of CSF flow (e.g., obstructive HYDROCEPHALUS). (From Childs Nerv Syst 1992 Sep; 8(6):301-6)	Brain Swelling,Cerebral Edema,Cytotoxic Brain Edema,Intracranial Edema,Vasogenic Cerebral Edema,Cerebral Edema, Cytotoxic,Cerebral Edema, Vasogenic,Cytotoxic Cerebral Edema,Vasogenic Brain Edema,Brain Edema, Cytotoxic,Brain Edema, Vasogenic,Brain Swellings,Cerebral Edemas, Vasogenic,Edema, Brain,Edema, Cerebral,Edema, Cytotoxic Brain,Edema, Cytotoxic Cerebral,Edema, Intracranial,Edema, Vasogenic Brain,Edema, Vasogenic Cerebral,Swelling, Brain
D004827	Epilepsy	A disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to a sudden, disorderly, and excessive neuronal discharge. Epilepsy classification systems are generally based upon: (1) clinical features of the seizure episodes (e.g., motor seizure), (2) etiology (e.g., post-traumatic), (3) anatomic site of seizure origin (e.g., frontal lobe seizure), (4) tendency to spread to other structures in the brain, and (5) temporal patterns (e.g., nocturnal epilepsy). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p313)	Aura,Awakening Epilepsy,Seizure Disorder,Epilepsy, Cryptogenic,Auras,Cryptogenic Epilepsies,Cryptogenic Epilepsy,Epilepsies,Epilepsies, Cryptogenic,Epilepsy, Awakening,Seizure Disorders
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D012720	Severity of Illness Index	Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.	Illness Index Severities,Illness Index Severity
D012886	Skull	The SKELETON of the HEAD including the FACIAL BONES and the bones enclosing the BRAIN.	Calvaria,Cranium,Calvarium,Skulls
D012887	Skull Fractures	Fractures of the skull which may result from penetrating or nonpenetrating head injuries or rarely BONE DISEASES (see also FRACTURES, SPONTANEOUS). Skull fractures may be classified by location (e.g., SKULL FRACTURE, BASILAR), radiographic appearance (e.g., linear), or based upon cranial integrity (e.g., SKULL FRACTURE, DEPRESSED).	Linear Skull Fracture,Skull Fracture, Linear,Skull Fracture, Non-Depressed,Non-Depressed Skull Fracture,Fracture, Non-Depressed Skull,Fracture, Skull,Fractures, Linear Skull,Fractures, Non-Depressed Skull,Fractures, Skull,Linear Skull Fractures,Non Depressed Skull Fracture,Non-Depressed Skull Fractures,Skull Fracture,Skull Fracture, Non Depressed,Skull Fractures, Linear,Skull Fractures, Non-Depressed
D013997	Time Factors	Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.	Time Series,Factor, Time,Time Factor