Plagiocephaly
Actually, plagiocephaly is "a malformation of the head marked by an oblique slant to the main axis of the skull." However, in recent times, the term has been used for any condition characterised by a persistent flat spot on the back or side of the head and is sometimes referred to as flat head syndrome.
It is important to distinguish between an abnormal head shape caused by positioning and an abnormal head shape caused the premature closure of cranial sutures, craniosynostosis. Positional abnormal head shapes can be corrected without the use of surgery by repositioning or cranial orthoses. Synostotic abnormal head shapes may require surgery though. If the condition is not treated, children with plagiocephaly may suffer with other medical issues as they grow up.
Some studies in this area have associated the recent significant increase in the number of infants with flat heads with the “back sleep campaign”. More children now sleep on their backs and more have some flattening on the back of their heads. This condition can be much worse on one side if a child preferentially sleeps with that side down. Positional plagiocephaly or flattened head syndrome, can result from preferentially lying on one side. Deformational brachycephaly is a flattening across the back of the head and the two conditions often occur together.
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