Measuring coagulopathy in pediatric craniofacial surgery

Complex cranial vault reconstruction (CCVR) for repair of craniosynostosis is a procedure associated with high risk of bleeding and resultant coagulopathy. The goal of this study was to describe lab parameters in a cohort of pediatric patients undergoing CCVR and identify if standard hematologic and coagulation laboratory results could predict blood loss. We found that standard hematologic and coagulation laboratory parameters predicted intraoperative and postoperative blood loss, but provided limited mechanistic information to improve our understanding of coagulopathy in craniofacial surgery. Future laboratory-based studies would be useful in providing a comprehensive model of coagulopathy in this population.