We have heard that very young achondroplastic children can run into a variety of complications. What should we be looking for?
There are three complications that are sometimes require intervention in achondroplastic infants and toddlers. In all likelihood your child will not run into any of these problems, but she or he should be evaluated for them nevertheless. Compression of the brain stem resulting from the base of the skull (foramen magnum) being too small to accommodate the spinal cord. Symptoms include central apnea (a condition that causes a person to stop breathing frequently while sleeping) and a general failure to thrive. This condition is treated through surgery, and children who have undergone this operation tend to do very well Hydrocephalus, the technical term for excess fluid on the brain, resulting from the drainage openings in the skull being of insufficient size. Many people with achondroplasia have some hydrocephalus, and no harm generally results. In addition, all people with achondroplasia have slightly enlarged heads, which can sometimes create the appearance of a problem when there is no
Related Questions
- We have heard that very young achondroplastic children can run into a variety of complications. What should we be looking for?
- Weve heard that very young achondroplastic children can run into a variety of complications. What should we be looking for?
- Typically, why do babies and young children run fevers at night and not during the day?