Intracranial migration of fixation wires following correction of craniosynostosis in an infant

Background: In the craniofacial skeleton, osseous fixation techniques for stabilization include stainless steel wire, miniplates or bioresorbable plates; in some cases, stainless steel wires are still indicated. Most recently, several case reports have demonstrated that microplates or stainless steel wires migrate intracranially when used in the craniofacial skeleton in neonates. Patient: We present the case of a 7-year-old male who underwent treatment of brachycephaly at the age of 5 months. In this patient, internal migration of wires was observed. Conclusion: In our opinion, there is a difference between migration of wires and of plates in the growing cranium. Factors affecting the incidence of material migration in cranioplasty are believed to include (1) age, (2) site and (3) the material itself. (C) 2002 European Association for Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery.