For Professionals
Temporal sequence of procedures – principles and individual adaptation.
Timing (the point in time) and sequencing (the order) of craniofacial procedures depend on diagnosis, growth and function. Established care pathways exist but are adapted individually. This page outlines general principles; the specific planning is done interdisciplinarily at a specialist centre.
Early procedures usually aim at function (e.g. breathing, intracranial pressure, early closure), later ones at growth and final corrections. Order and timing are chosen so that function is secured and growth is taken into account.
Care pathways are orientation, not rigid specifications. They are adapted to diagnosis, course and individual factors.
Roughly and without claim to completeness: in the newborn and infant phase, function-securing measures are at the forefront; over time, growth-related and – after growth is complete – possibly final corrections follow. The specific sequence is diagnosis-specific and individual.
The actual temporal planning is an individual medical decision and differs between diagnoses, patients and centres.
That timing and sequencing are oriented to function and growth is consensus.
Specific timings and sequences vary considerably between centres and protocols.
The optimal schedule to balance function, growth and number of procedures is not conclusively standardised.
There are established care pathways as orientation, but no rigid schedule valid for everyone. Timing and sequencing are adapted individually to diagnosis, growth and function.
Early procedures usually secure function (e.g. breathing, intracranial pressure), later ones take growth into account and serve final correction. The sequence is diagnosis-specific.
Planning is done interdisciplinarily at a specialist centre and is coordinated individually.