Patient Navigation and Coordination Streamline Craniosynostosis Care

In the U.S., roughly one in every 2,500 babies is born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes their skull bones to fuse too early. For more than 30 years, Cincinnati Children’s Craniosynostosis and Cranial Reconstruction Center has delivered the specialized surgical and medical care these children need. Each year, surgeons and providers in this high-volume referral center treat approximately 280 infants, with nearly 25% requiring surgery.

In recent years, the center’s structure was redesigned to give patients easier access to comprehensive, multidisciplinary care, says Brian Pan, MD, FACS, director of the division of pediatric plastic surgery. Instead of scheduling multiple appointments that take more time and delay collaboration between providers, the clinic now brings its experts together for one-stop appointments.

“We have been intentional about trying to create a truly integrated multidisciplinary program,” he says. “Now, our neurosurgeons and plastic surgeons together to meet the patient and family on the same day at the same time. This way, we provide a unified plan at the time of that visit.”

In addition to coordinating same-day appointments across specialties, the center also hired a dedicated nurse coordinator to help patients navigate the treatment process.

“Our nurse coordinator is the point person for our patients. She answers initial inquiries from families, coordinates visits and helps with preoperative planning like logistics with travel and accommodations,” Dr. Pan says, noting this type of position is rare among craniosynostosis clinics. “She speaks the language of both plastic surgery and neurosurgery. For families, having an accessible and knowledgeable contact who can easily connect with busy surgeons is a big plus.”

Dr. Pan and Dr. Skoch provide these leading-edge services alongside fellow surgeons Smruti Patel, MD, Scott Rapp, MD, and Philip Tolley, MD, and nurse coordinator Veronika Elsaesser, RN.

Screening Ensures Faster Access to Care

There are several types of craniosynostosis. A patient’s specific form of the condition determines the most appropriate treatment, including surgery. So, the center launched a nurse practitioner clinic to triage patients and determine candidates for surgery.

“A large part of the craniosynostosis management process is screening to find the patients who really need surgery,” says pediatric neurosurgeon Jesse Skoch, MD. “Coordinating schedules for two surgeons to see every patient is not an easy feat. Our nurse practitioners help us identify who needs surgery and who are the lower-acuity patients who may benefit from other treatments.”

The center also partners closely with a clinic in the Division of Plastic Surgery that is dedicated to treating plagiocephaly. Treatment for this condition, which causes flattening or slanting on one side of the head, may benefit many craniosynostosis patients.

Advanced Technology Improves Treatments

At Cincinnati Children’s, neurosurgeons and plastic surgeons work together to provide the full range of craniosynostosis procedures, including:

• Cranial springs
• Cranial vault reconstruction
• Cranioplasty
• Cranial distraction
• Endoscopic craniectomy (also called strip craniectomy)
• Fronto-orbital advancement

“We offer access to minimally invasive approaches that aren’t available everywhere,” Dr. Pan says. “We provide a greater number of procedures and have surgeons with more experience compared to smaller centers.”

To improve treatment planning and care delivery, surgeons utilize two advanced technologies. In many cases, patients need multiple imaging scans to confirm a diagnosis. Recently, the center’s surgeons collaborated with Cincinnati Children’s radiologists to develop a special CT scanning protocol that limits a patient’s radiation exposure—from five to six times lower than other standard protocols.

Virtual surgical planning (VSP) also enhances treatment planning and reduces surgery time by using 3D imaging to map a patient’s skull and determine the best surgical option.

“It improves our surgical accuracy and decreases our operating room time,” Dr. Skoch says. “It allows us to be more quantitative when making predictions on changes in the volume of the skull—one of the key foci of why we do these surgeries.”

VSP also gives surgeons and parents a clear view of what a child’s head will look like after surgery.

Early Evaluation Improves Outcomes

For children with craniosynostosis, the timing of their diagnosis is important.

“For some of our younger patients who need minimally invasive surgery, there’s a time limit,” says Dr. Pan. “These procedures are only available to infants younger than six months.”

In these cases, the center expedites patient care. The program coordinator quickly sets up a same-day, joint clinic appointment with surgeons and schedules patients for the next available surgical opening.

Ultimately, Dr. Skoch says the center is committed to delivering high-quality, timely care to patients with craniosynostosis throughout the Greater Cincinnati region and beyond.

“We’re offering patients the most advanced, most diverse craniofacial options out there,” he says. “We’re also developing our own modifications to surgeries, postoperative management, preoperative management and planning. It’s our dedication to leading-edge care.”

Learn more about craniosynostosis and cranial reconstruction care at Cincinnati Children’s.

(Published September 2026)

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