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Generaldiscussionandfutureperspectives22312PART4-EVALUATIONInthepreviouspartspotentialfutureclinicalimplementationswerepresentedanddiscussedHowever,thecareandcureofcraniosynostosispatientswasthemain focusof this thesisandinPart 4 wepursuedalong-term follow-upofalargenumberofpatientsThisgaveustheopportunitytoobjectivelyreflectourownworkandcompletedthecycleofdiagnosis–planning–surgeryandevaluationInChapter10weshowedthattheevaluationofsurgicalmethodshelpsusdetermine thebestpossible care forindividualpatients We concluded thatEACSincombinationwithhelmettherapyisanadequatemethodtotreatscaphocephalicpatientsInfutureresearchthetreatmentofothercraniosynostosisformssuchastrigonocephalyandplagiocephalywillalsobeinvestigatedSinceplagiocephalycanleadtosevereasymmetricalfacialabnormalitiesabeautifulaestheticresultisevenmoreparamount ThisisoneofthereasonsthatplagiocephalytreatmentshouldbesimilarlyevaluatedinordertodetermineobjectivelythebestpossibletreatmentforthisconditionInChapter10theclinicaloutcomesoftheEACSwithhelmettherapywerepresentedandcomparedtothenormalreferencevaluesandtheOCVRtreatmentwascomparedtothenormalreferencevaluesItshouldbenotedhowever,thatitwasnotstrictlypossibletomakeadirectcomparisonbetweenbothtreatmentsbecausetheinclusioncriteria(suchasageatthetimeofsurgery)wereverydissimilar TheaverageresultsofEACSaremoreaccuratethantheaverageresultsofOCVRThisisbecausethesamestrategywasusedforallEACSpatientswhiledifferent surgical strategies wereused for the OCVRpatients since a tailored surgicalplanwascreatedforeveryindividualpatientNeverthelessthe3DdistancemapsdemonstratethatEACSandhelmettreatmentleadstoverysatisfactoryresultsMoreover,whenthesurgicaloutcomeparametersaretakenintoaccountitisevident thatEACSis a very adequate and appropriate treatment for scaphocephalypatientsAnotherlimitation of the studyis that while the design fabrication and adjustmentoftheredressionhelmetshaveanimportantinfluenceontheEACStreatmentwedidnottakeallhelmet-relatedparametersintoconsiderationAlthoughthedirectandlive evaluation of 3Dphotos during clinical consultation givesus thepossibility