Does the participation of a senior plastic surgeon improve perioperative care in craniosynostosis repair surgery?

The real impact of the participation of other surgical specialties together with neurosurgeons on perioperative care in craniosynostosis repair surgery has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the participation of a second senior surgeon (plastic surgeon) during surgical repair of pediatric monosutural craniosynostosis improved perioperative medical care.The authors retrospectively reviewed 2 cohorts of patients who had consecutively undergone primary repair surgery for trigonocephaly and unicoronal craniosynostosis. Infants were operated on by a single senior pediatric neurosurgeon before December 2017, and with the collaboration of a senior plastic surgeon after January 2018.Overall, 60 infants were included in the study: 29 in group 1 (single surgeon, 2011-2017), and 31 in group 2 (pair of surgeons, 2018-2021). Median surgery time was significantly shorter in group 2 than group 1: 180 vs. 167minutes; P=0.0045. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in blood loss or intra/postoperative packed erythrocyte transfusion. Postoperative drain output was significantly lower in group 2. Median length of hospital and intensive care stay were significantly shorter in group 2, by 1 and 2 days, respectively; P<0.0001. Volume of infused solution, diuresis, immediate postoperative hemoglobin level, hematocrit, hemostasis (platelet count, fibrinogen, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time), and return to oral feeding did not differ from one group to the other.Results confirmed our impression of an improvement in perioperative medical care. However, the role of surgical experience and the influence of the medical/nursing staff must not be minimized in these complex surgical procedures.