Experimental rabbit models of postnatal coronal
suture (CS)
synostosis have helped make significant contributions towards the understanding and surgical management of human congenital
craniosynostosis. The present study compares craniofacial growth patterns in animals with experimental CS immobilization and in a rabbit born in our laboratory with congenital CS
synostosis. The study sample consisted of 10
sham controls, 14 experimental animals with bilateral CS immobilization, and one animal with congenital, bilateral CS
synostosis. At 1.5 weeks of age, all animals had amalgam markers placed on either side of the frontonasal, coronal, and anterior lambdoid
sutures. At this time, the experimental animals had bilateral CS immobilization using methyl-
methacrylate. Serial lateral head x-rays were taken at 1.5, 6, 12, and 18 weeks of age. Results revealed that by 1.5 weeks of age the congenital animal already exhibited changes in the cranial vault, cranial base, midface, and orthocephalic cranial base angles compared to controls. By 6 weeks of age, animals with experimental immobilization showed compensatory growth patterns similar to the congenital animal, particularly at the calvarial
sutures and upper midface. This pattern continued through 18 weeks. Results showed that experimental, postnatal CS immobilization produced similar craniofacial growth patterns to those observed for our single congenital animal, but to a lesser degree, and therefore validates, in part, findings from experimental rabbit models of
synostosis.