Metopic triangle osteotomy in trigonocephaly Piezosurgery: a technical variant to control metopic emissary veins

Neurosurg Focus Video. 2021 Apr 1;4(2):V4. doi: 10.3171/2021.1.FOCVID20132. eCollection 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Premature fusion of the metopic suture results in trigonocephaly with variable degrees of anterior cranial fossa dysmorphia and craniofacial deformity. Different surgical corrective techniques that aim to reshape the forehead and enlarge the cranial volume have been described. Typical variations of the standard fronto-orbitary advancement carry the risk of relevant blood loss during frontal osteotomy, where paired emissary metopic veins are disrupted. The authors present a technical variant that preserves a bony triangle over the glabella to optimize control of these veins, which represent the major source of bleeding, and applies Piezosurgery to perform the osteotomies to minimize bone substance loss. The video can be found here: https://vimeo.com/511536423.

Keywords: complications; emissary veins; metopic synostosis; metopic veins; osteotomy.