Case Study: Braxton Ganus

Brittany and Jordan Ganus weren’t overly concerned when they noticed their son Braxton was born with a large bump on the back of his head.

It wasn’t anything to be worried about, the doctors assured Brittany and Jordan – maybe it was from the stress of labor and the birth canal that caused Braxton’s head to grow to an irregular shape. The doctors in Jonesboro, Ark., told the couple to closely monitor his skull growth over the next few months and to let Braxton lay on the back of his head. Eventually the skull would flatten and grow normally, they were told.

At Braxton’s 6-month check up, the pediatrician noticed the back of his skull had grown larger and was elongated and narrow. An X-ray showed that his skull sutures had prematurely fused. Braxton was diagnosed with sagittal suture synostosis.

“His head was long and pointy in the back and was cone-shaped,” Brittany said. “When I began researching sagittal suture synostosis online I was really scared because the first thing I thought was surgery.”

After his diagnosis, the Ganus family was then referred to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital where surgeons Paul Kilmo, MD, and Robert Wallace, MD, medical director of plastic surgery, were able to perform a craniectomy on Braxton in August.

“The change in head shape is dramatic,” Wallace said.

Every six months, Braxton will return to Le Bonheur where Wallace will monitor his skull growth.