children s health issues
Macrocephaly
Introduction
Macrocephaly is the technical term for a large head. Macrocephaly can be caused by genetic disorders or other disorders or can run in families. Diagnosis is made before birth through routine ultrasound tests or after birth by measuring the head circumference. Doctors usually do an imaging test to look for brain abnormalities and genetic testing to look for a cause. Treatment for macrocephaly usually includes surgery. (See also Overview of Brain and Spinal Cord Birth Defects .) Infants with macrocephaly have a Head Circumference that is considerably larger than others of the same age. Macrocephaly can be classified as Disproportionate: The head is larger than appropriate for the child's overall size. Proportionate: The head appears appropriately sized for the body (in other words, the child has a large body and a large head). Many people with large heads or large skulls are healthy. The most common cause of macrocephaly is familial macrocephaly, in which a larger head size runs in the child's family because of features of the skull and brain growth. Abnormal macrocephaly may be caused by an enlarged brain (megalencephaly), water on the brain ( Hydrocephalus ), overgrowth of the bones of the skull (cranial hyperostosis), or other conditions. These conditions may be the result of genetic disorders or disorders the child acquired before or after birth. Children may also have complications, for example, lazy eye (also called Amblyopia ), misaligned teeth, and/or speech difficulties related to effects on the mouth and jaw. 