Shortly after Jacob's birth, all of us recognized there was something about his head. However, at his pediatric visits, the pediatrician stated she was not concerned about his head as long as his development was normal. It wasn't until he had an ear infection in May and saw a different pediatrician in Convenient Care that his congenital defect became known to us.

Jacob was diagnosed with Scaphocephaly or Sagittal Synostosis which is the premature closing of the sagittal suture on top of the head between the left and right sides of the skull, inhibiting growth of the head in the side to side direction. This forces the head to grow in a front to back direction, leading to a narrow elongated head.

On Wednesday, July 22, Jacob had surgery (Calvarial Remodeling Procedure) performed by Drs. Lin and Elwood at Childrens Hospital of Illinois, Peoria, to correct this defect.

In the following photos, the "before" pictures are on the left and the "after" pictures are on the right.

His head has an elongated

"football" shape on the left. The pictures on the right show a more rounded shape. In the top of the head view below, the whorl or hair swirl is closer to the midline on his head before the surgery and in the more appropriate back top of the head after surgery.

In the after front view on the right, his head appears broader above the ear area.