Surgery and Treatment for Craniofacial Conditions (2 of 9)

Children with craniofacial conditions frequently need a series of operations over their lifetime. In some children we have to rebuild the jaws, and we do that with bone grafts taken from the rib or from the lower leg. Oftentimes, we create an entirely new ear by taking cartilage from the rib. In children that have less severe deformities, frequently it's a matter of just taking the existing bone structure and cutting it, and shifting it, or elongating it. What your child will need will depend upon his age and degree of deformity, and the team with tailor the treatment for your child. Oftentimes kids with craniofacial anomalies have other problems that don't have to do with the head and neck. So a heart problem, or a spine problem, or an intra-abdominal problem, like a kidney problem.

The beauty of being at a place like CHOP is that we have people here that can take care of hearts, and lungs, and hands, and feet, and brains. We have some of the best pediatric neurosurgeons in the world here at CHOP, and they play a really crucial role in some of our most complicated craniofacial surgeries. So we can do big, complex surgery because we know that our colleagues who are going to take care of patients are just the best.

We're always trying to advance care here at CHOP to move the field forward. We're doing bone tissue engineering, using stem cells so that someday we won't have to borrow bones from other places in kids' bodies to recreate, perhaps, a jaw or part of the crania bone. You have the most innovative research and treatments here. Surgeons who are the ones writing the research, and writing the textbooks, at the same time performing this amazing surgery to help these children. People come here from all over the country. They come here from all over the world. Yeah, you have some incredibly talented professionals.

All really cutting edge at what they do. So much is lifted off of your shoulders knowing that they're in good hands with amazing people here at CHOP. And it definitely, it definitely helps.