Unicoronal Suture Synostosis: Open Vault Surgery, Key Points for the Neurosurgeons

The craniofacial growth can be severely affected in case of hemicoronal synostosis. Several surgical procedures have been proposed during the past years for correcting the cosmetic defect resulting from the secondary developmental anomalies of the skull and the facies induced by the early closure of the suture as well as to prevent their further progression. The surgical corrective techniques aim also at increasing the volume of the affected hemiskull in order to prevent any encephalic compression. All the techniques proposed share some common key points. The aim of this chapter is to review the principal surgical steps in the open vault procedure.