Which centers should be authorized to treat craniosynostosis? A plea for quality and not for quantity.

Background: In centers for craniosynostosis surgery, the volume of activity does not necessarily reflect the quality of the treatment.

Objective: Our aim was to analyze a retrospective series of patients over a period of 6 years in a low-volume craniosynostosis surgery center, and to study indicators that reflect the quality of treatment.

Patients And Methods: The analysis included all patients who underwent a craniofacial surgery for all forms of craniosynostosis during the period 2012-2017 (annual follow-up for 4 years). Data on the type of synostosis, sex, age, weight, type of surgery, duration of surgery, blood transfusion, postinterventional care, and total length of hospital stay were collected. Medical and surgical complications were recorded using the Leeds classification.

Results: Overall, 42 patients (33 male; 23 cases of scaphocephaly, 13 cases of trigonocephaly, 4 cases of coronal plagiocephaly, 1 case of lambdoid plagiocephaly, and 1 case of brachycephaly) underwent craniofacial surgery with a median age of 7.4 months [4.8; 10.4] and a mean weight of 8.40 ± 1.92 kg at surgery. The median hospital stay was 7 days [6;7] with 1 day in the postinterventional care unit for 83% of patients. The global complication rate was 12% (95% CI: 4%-26%) with three minor cutaneous and two major (cardiovascular and septic) complications.

Conclusion: Complication rates reflect the quality of care in a center that treats craniosynostosis much more than do the number of procedures, mean hospital stay, and blood transfusion rates. It is essential to define new indicators capable of measuring the quality of life linked to surgical procedures and of using them to assess the competence of a center.