Fronto-facial advancement and bipartition in Crouzon-Pfeiffer and Apert syndromes : Impact of fronto-facial surgery upon orbital and airway parameters in FGFR2 syndromes

A major concern in FGFR2 craniofaciosynostosis is oculo-orbital disproportion, such that orbital malformation provides poor accommodation and support for the orbital contents and peri-orbita, leading to insufficient eyelid closure, corneal exposure and eventually to functional visual impairment. Fronto-facial monobloc osteotomy followed by distraction osteogenesis aims to correct midfacial growth deficiencies in Crouzon–Pfeiffer syndrome patients. Fronto-facial bipartition osteotomy followed by distraction is a procedure of choice in Apert syndrome patients. These procedures modify the shape and volume of the orbit and tend to correct oculo-orbital disproportion. Little is known about the detailed 3D shape of the orbital phenotype in CPS and AS, and about how this is modified by fronto-facial surgery. Twenty-eight patients with CMS, 13 patients with AS and 40 control patients were included. CT scans were performed before and after fronto-facial surgery. Late post-operative scans were available for the Crouzon–Pfeiffer syndrome group. Orbital morphology was investigated using conventional three-dimensional cephalometry and shape analysis after mesh-based segmentation of the orbital contents. We characterized the 3D morphology of CPS and AS orbits and showed how orbital shape is modified by surgery. We showed that monobloc-distraction in CPS and bipartition-distraction in AS specifically address the morphological characteristics of the two syndromes.